UNCXKKJOIAL 


OWJCJA 


V  -  j  /  \  I  .; 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF 
CALIFORNIA 

SAN  DIEGO 


j 


[HE  UNIVERSITY  LIBKAKY 

BBIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  SAN  DIF«n 

LA  JOLLA.  CALIFORNIA 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS 
OF  AN   OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 


UNOFFICIAL  LETTERS 
OF  AN  OFFICIAL'S  WIFE 


EDITH   MOSES 


NEW    YORK 

D.    APPLETON     AND    COMPANY 
1908 


COPYRIGHT,  1908,  BY 
D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY 


Published  October,  1908 


CONTENTS 


I. — FIRST  IMPRESSIONS i 

II. — BEGINNING  HOUSEKEEPING  IN  MANILA      .       .  12 

III. — A  VISIT  IN  APALTT 51 

IV. — THE  ROUTINE 70 

V. — THE  SOUTHERN  TRIP 92 

/ 
VI. — MANILA  SOCIETY .147 

VII. — A  WINTER  IN  MANILA 181 

VIII. — IN  THE  WILDS  OF  BENGUET         .       .       .       .228 
IX. — THE  RETURN  FROM  THE  MOUNTAINS         .       .     299 

X. — AN  OUTING  IN  BATANGAS 321 

XI. — CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  FILIPINOS    .       .       .    344 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 
AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 


FIRST    IMPRESSIONS 

MANILA  BAY,  June  3,  1900. 

HERE  we  are.  The  long  journey  of  forty-six 
days  is  ended  and  we  are  anchored  in  Manila 
Bay,  two  and  a  half  miles  from  the  shore.  At  this 
distance  the  city  is  only  a  shining  white  line  between 
the  blue  water  and  the  bluer  sky.  Hot  ?  You  never 
imagined  the  real  meaning  of  that  word,  and  yet 
the  thermometer  marks  only  ninety-nine;  the  moist 
atmosphere  makes  it  seem  many  degrees  higher. 
Thin  clothing  and  excitement  are  helping  us  to 
bear  the  heat,  for  there  is  a  sense  of  exhilaration  in 
the  thought  that  we  are  at  last  in  Oriental  America. 
We  slept  on  deck  last  night  to  be  ready  for  the 
sight  of  land  at  the  first  glimmer  of  daylight.  At 
four  o'clock  I  was  up  and  dressed  watching  the 
faint  outlines  of  the  coast  range.  The  sky  was 
cloudless  and  the  sea  like  glass.  The  atmosphere 
was  suffused  with  the  soft  dove  color  tinted  with 

I 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

pink  which  precedes  the  break  of  day.  Even  at 
that  early  hour  the  air  was  tepid.  As  we  ap- 
proached the  bay,  on  our  left  the  headlands  rose 
gradually  to  the  Mariveles  Mountains :  on  our 
right  the  coast  line  was  low.  Almost  dividing  the 
entrance  to  Manila  Bay  stood  Corregidor  Island. 
Vessels  usually  go  in  by  the  Boca  Chica,  or  small 
mouth,  to  the  north  of  Corregidor.  The  American 
squadron  passed  in  through  the  Boca  Grande,  or 
big  mouth,  on  the  memorable  first  of  May.  We 
could  see  the  small  island  from  which  the  Spanish 
batteries  fired  futile  shots  as  Dewey  stole  by  in  the 
darkness.  Cavite  and  the  spars  and  hulls  of  sunken 
Spanish  warships  were  pointed  out  to  us  by  Mr. 
Worcester,  who  apparently  feels  as  if  he  were  on  his 
native  heath  again.  The  sun  rose,  a  great  red  ball 
of  fire,  and  we  felt  its  penetrating  rays  before  it 
had  left  the  horizon.  We  came  to  anchor  at  half 
past  seven. 

At  nine  o'clock  a  big  steam  launch  came  along- 
side bringing  a  large  delegation  of  Filipinos  to  wel- 
come the  Commission.  We  all  crowded  to  the  rail 
for  the  first  glimpse  of  our  new  fellow-citizens. 
They  stood  on  the  deck  of  the  launch  as  it  ap- 
proached, smiling  and  raising  their  hats  and  waving 
their  hands  with  the  unAnglo-Saxon  gesture  used 
in  greeting  by  all  the  Latin  races.  They  were 
dressed  in  frock  coats  with  high  hats,  and  under 
the  tropical  sun  I  could  imagine  no  more  uncom- 

2 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

fortable  or  unsuitable  dress.  In  a  few  moments 
they  came  on  board;  the  judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  leaders  of  the  pro-American  Filipinos,  and 
a  number  of  ex-members  of  Aguinaldo's  Malolos 
Cabinet.  Their  manners  struck  me  at  once  as  notice- 
ably polished.  They  were  not  handsome,  but  were 
as  intelligent  looking  a  party  of  men  as  one  would 
meet  anywhere.  They  reminded  me  strongly  of 
the  Mexicans  in  face  and  figure.  All  spoke  Span- 
ish, several  had  a  good  knowledge  of  French,  and 
one  or  two  of  the  younger  men  knew  a  little  Eng- 
lish. After  the  introductions  were  over,  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Commission  made  a  speech  of  wel- 
come, which  the  Secretary  of  the  Commission 
interpreted.  His  rendering  of  Judge  Taft's  cordial 
Anglo-Saxon  greeting  to  our  Filipino  friends  was 
a  masterpiece.  It  had  all  the  elegance  and  stateli- 
ness  of  the  grand  Spanish  manner  and  yet  conveyed 
the  impression  of  being  sincere  and  from  the  heart. 
The  delegation  was  evidently  immensely  pleased 
with  its  reception.  I  met  several  of  the  judges  and 
a  physician  who  had  played  a  conspicuous  part  in 
the  insurrection,  but  who  now  are  apparently  in 
sympathy  with  the  Americans.  They  were  lively 
and  enthusiastic,  a  likeable  type. 

There  has  been  a  continual  coming  and  going 
all  day  long  of  American  officials  and  army  officers. 
After  luncheon  the  Commission  returned  the  mili- 
tary governor's  call.  They  reported  an  escort  of 

3 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

soldiers  and  all  the  adjuncts  of  a  military  reception. 
Their  only  comment  on  the  affair  was,  "  hot."  It  is 
now  nearly  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening.  The  stars 
seem  larger  in  America,  but  the  Southern  Cross 
is  not  as  wonderful  as  poets  and  romancers  make  it. 
Looking  toward  the  land  the  lights  twinkle  along 
shore  and  on  the  Luneta,  which  "  our  oldest  inhab- 
itant," as  we  call  Mr.  Worcester,  has  just  pointed 
out  to  us.  To-morrow  we  shall  go  on  shore  to 
select  the  houses  available  for  our  use. 

June  4,  1900. 

WE  have  spent  the  day  in  town  engaged  in  the 
tiring  but  interesting  occupation  of  selecting 
"  suitable  houses,"  and  I  think  it  is  the  general 
feeling  on  board  the  Hancock  to-night  that  there 
are  not  any  answering  to  that  description.  The 
high  military  officers  already  occupy  the  best  avail- 
able houses  in  town,  and  those  not  occupied  leave 
very  little  room  for  choice.  They  were  certainly 
not  the  palaces  report  and  our  imagination  had 
pictured  them.  The  one  Judge  Taft  will  probably 
take  looks  forlorn  enough  now  with  the  magenta 
wall  paper  detached  from  the  ceiling,  a  dry,  un- 
kempt lawn  in  front,  and  only  three  bedrooms  on 
the  main  floor.  Spaniards,  you  know,  sleep  in  fam- 
ily bedrooms.  Don't  you  remember  the  father, 
mother,  and  six  children  who  all  occupied  the  same 
room  in  the  City  of  Mexico?  One  of  these  bed- 

4 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

rooms  is  large  enough  to  hold  the  whole  Taft  fam- 
ily and  attendants.  The  furniture  is  old  and  ant- 
eaten,  and  the  whole  place  is  dirty  and  neglected. 

At  first  we  were  very  solemn  and  downcast,  but 
the  amusing  side  fortunately  came  uppermost,  and 
after  expressing  his  views  the  judge  suddenly  ex- 
claimed, "  Not  quite  up  to  your  ideal,  is  it  ?  "  and 
burst  into  one  of  his  infectious  laughs,  in  which  we 
joined.  Fortunately  we  have  the  "  same  taste  in 
jokes."  I  confess  to  one  great  disappointment.  In 
imagining  my  tropical  home  I  had  always  pictured 
the  cool  patio  with  its  handsome  grille  on  the  street 
and  a  fountain  with  palms  and  plants,  just  as  I  had 
seen  them  in  Seville.  Not  a  house  we  saw  to-day 
had  a  patio.  The  Worcesters  are  moving  into  a 
house  Mr.  Worcester  occupied  when  he  was  here 
before,  and  they  seem  quite  satisfied,  but  they  also 
have  their  woes;  for  one  of  Mr.  Worcester's  be- 
loved Filipinos,  a  trusted  muchacho,  decamped  with 
Mrs.  Worcester's  watch  a  few  hours  after  their 
arrival.  We  are  considering  a  modest  dwelling 
which  has  two  advantages.  It  is  on  the  bay  shore, 
and  the  sala,  or  drawing  room,  is  ceiled  in  native 
mahogany.  The  entrance  is,  in  my  opinion,  dis- 
reputable, for  it  is  through  the  stable.  The  quarter- 
master captain  who  escorted  us  about  assures  me 
that  I  shall  soon  become  used  to  this  feature  of  the 
Manila  house,  but  I  hope  I  shall  not.  The  fact  that 
our  houses  are  not  the  palaces  we  expected  does  not 

5 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

lessen  my  feeling  that  I  shall  like  Manila  immensely. 
The  town  and  its  inhabitants  are  even  more  pictur- 
esque than  I  had  imagined.  The  walled  city  of 
which  I  had  a  fleeting  glimpse  is  quite  mediaeval, 
and  I  long  to  explore  its  narrow  streets  with  over- 
hanging balconies.  There  is  a  pinkish  cathedral, 
with  a  suggestion  of  Moorish  Spain  in  its  roof,  and 
a  plaza  filled  with  flaming  fire  trees  blazing  in  the 
intense  sunlight. 

June  5,  1900. 

WE  went  on  shore  this  morning  to  make  the 
final  arrangements  for  our  house.  It  was  as 
hot  as  ever,  and  as  we  steamed  on  shore  in  the 
Hancock's  launch  the  town  seemed  to  swim  in  the 
quivering  air.  Tondo  Church  was  pointed  out  to  us. 
It  is  quite  a  conspicuous  landmark  from  the  trans- 
port. Fort  Santiago  and  the  walled  city  detached 
themselves  from  the  indefinite  background  as  we 
approached  the  shore. 

The  Pasig  River  must  have  determined  the  situ- 
tion  of  Manila,  for  certainly  the  site  of  the  town 
has  no  other  advantages.  The  harbor  is  exposed 
to  typhoons,  and  large  ocean  vessels  cannot  come 
within  two  miles  of  the  shore.  Small  coasting 
steamers  run  up  the  river  as  far  as  the  Bridge  of 
Spain.  The  river  was  full  of  new  and  picturesque 
life.  Great  flat-bottomed  barges,  called  cascos,  lay 
in  the  stream  and  alongshore.  They  are  gayly 
painted,  red  and  blue,  in  a  strange  design.  You 

6 


should  have  seen  the  little  naked  babies  gazing  at 
us  with  round  eyes,  holding  to  the  red  skirts  of  their 
soft-eyed  mothers.  The  natives  live  on  their  cascos 
as  the  Chinese  do  in  their  river  boats,  but  a  Virgin 
and  a  lighted  taper  in  the  prow  take  the  place  of  the 
goggle  eyes  of  the  Chinese  junk  in  keeping  off  evil 
influences.  On  every  casco  I  saw  a  fighting  cock. 
He  was  either  tied  by  his  leg  to  a  convenient  post, 
or  his  master  squatted  behind  him  smoothing  his 
plumage  as  our  launch  puffed  by.  Life  on  a  casco 
is  surely  not  dull. 

Beside  the  cascos  there  were  little  canoes,  called 
bancas,  shooting  about  in  the  water  in  most  dan- 
gerous proximity  to  our  launch.  Half  a  dozen  na- 
tives were  always  crowded  in  these  little  dugouts, 
which  were  propelled  by  a  man  in  the  stern,  who 
used  his  spoon-shaped  paddle  like  a  gondolier.  At 
the  captain  of  the  port's  landing  were  a  crowd  of 
the  common  people,  the  "  gente,"  as  they  are  called 
wherever  Spanish  is  used,  and  I  saw  the  native  with 
the  much  abused  shirt  worn  outside  of  the  trousers; 
"  that  disgusting  Filipino  shirt  tail,"  as  one  lady 
said.  I  can't  see  how  anyone  can  be  shocked  by 
this  eminently  modest  costume.  Freshly  ironed  and 
neatly  pleated  it  looked  cool  and  gave  the  wearer 
an  air  of  great  neatness.  There  were  all  sorts  of 
shirts  in  the  crowd  that  had  gathered  to  see  us 
land;  some  were  of  gauze  woven  in  fancy  stripes, 
others  were  handsomely  embroidered  down  the  front. 

7 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

All  the  men  wore  hats ;  some  were  of  straw,  others 
of  felt  or  bamboo.  The  women  wore  red  skirts  and 
a  chemise,  over  which  was  a  wide-sleeved  loose 
waist  of  a  gauzy  material  like  mosquito  netting. 
Their  heads  were  either  bare  or  tied  up  in  blue  cot- 
ton handkerchiefs.  Several  balanced  closed  um- 
brellas on  their  heads;  others  carried  mats,  flat 
baskets  of  food,  or  jars  of  water.  One  woman 
strode  along  with  a  cigarette  in  her  mouth  and  a 
small  coffin  on  her  head. 

The  gait  of  all  the  women  is  peculiar.  With  their 
shoulders  thrown  back,  the  chest  and  abdomen 
thrust  forward,  they  marched  along,  ungainly  but 
independent.  The  majority  were  barefooted,  but 
several  clattered  about  in  wooden  clogs  very  like 
those  worn  by  the  Japanese.  The  streets  were  full 
of  new  and  strange  vehicles.  A  two-wheeled  box- 
like  conveyance,  called  a  quilez,  was  drawn  by  one 
pony  that  seemed  always  on  the  point  of  being 
lifted  in  the  air  by  the  ill-balanced  load  of  natives 
packed  in  the  interior.  The  calesa,  a  two-wheeled 
phaeton,  seemed  to  be  more  aristocratic,  as  the  pony 
was  driven  by  the  owner.  A  small  half-clad  boy 
could  be  seen  behind  balancing  himself  on  a  little 
seat,  his  bare  legs  dangling  in  the  air.  The  carro- 
mattas  were  again  more  plebeian,  and  had  stiff  tops. 
The  driver  sat  on  a  small  box  almost  between  the 
shafts.  The  public  carromattas  and  quilez  were 
all  in  a  shockingly  dirty  condition,  and  their  drivers 

8 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

were  ragged  and  reckless.  The  streets  were  filled 
with  victorias,  barouches,  and  ancient,  worn-out, 
old-fashioned  constructions. 

The  Escolta,  the  principal  thoroughfare  of  Ma- 
nila, was  crowded  and  at  times  blocked  with  these 
vehicles.  There  was  a  miserable  little  tram  drawn 
by  diminutive  ponies;  and  carabaos,  uncouth,  long- 
horned,  and  terrifying,  dragged  heavy  carts  at  a 
snail's  pace  among  shouting  and  yelling  drivers 
of  lighter  vehicles.  I  saw  the  better  class  of  natives 
on  the  Escolta.  The  Spanish  type  was  noticeable. 
Pretty  girls  in  lace  mantillas,  the  darker  mestizas, 
in  gay  skirts  and  bright-colored,  wide-sleeved,  ca- 
misas  or  waists,  and  embroidered  handkerchiefs, 
were  shopping  in  the  "  City  of  Manila  and  Paris," 
or  in  the  "  Gateway  of  the  Sun."  The  elderly  du- 
enna accompanied  the  Spanish  girls,  but  the  mes- 
tizas seemed  to  flock  together  apparently  without 
chaperons.  White-garbed  civilians,  a  few  pale- 
faced  Americans,  crowds  of  soldiers  in  the  attract- 
ive uniform  of  the  tropics,  white  duck  and  brass 
buttons,  made  the  scene  full  of  interest. 

The  residence  portion  of  Manila,  as  we  saw  it, 
was  a  succession  of  country  roadways;  handsome 
houses  were  jostled  by  nipa  shacks;  canals  filled 
with  laundry  women  and  naked  babies  invaded 
aristocratic  quarters.  There  was  but  one  street  of 
uniformly  good  houses.  This  was  the  Calle  General 
Solano  leading  to  the  governor-general's  palace. 

9 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

Of  this  rambling  low  structure  we  caught  only  a 
glimpse  as  we  drove  past  it.  We  finished  our  day 
on  shore  with  a  drive  around  the  Luneta  and  saw 
Manila  society  in  full  force,  driving  slowly  around 
the  band  stand  or  racing  up  and  down  the  Malecon 
drive.  It  is  surprising  how  rapidly  the  little  ponies 
carry  one  over  the  ground,  although  they  are  scarce- 
ly bigger  than  burros.  The  Malecon  looks  out 
across  the  bay  to  Mariveles  and  Corregidor,  and  is 
a  delightfully  cool  place  after  a  hot  day.  At  the 
end  of  the  drive  is  the  Anda  monument,  an  ugly 
and  unimposing  memorial  to  the  Spanish  governor 
who  opposed  the  English  in  1762,  when  they  gained 
possession  of  the  Philippines. 

Fort  Santiago  looked  mediaeval  but  not  imposing. 
They  tell  me  there  are  secret  dungeons  and  torture 
chambers  behind  the  gray  walls.  One  of  the  Fili- 
pinos who  came  out  to  see  us  yesterday  had  been 
confined  by  the  Spaniards  in  an  underground  prison 
in  the  city  wall,  where  he  stood  several  days  in 
water  a  foot  or  more  deep.  Neither  the  fort  nor  the 
walled  city  is  a  defense  for  Manila,  but  both  are 
picturesque,  and  the  drawbridges  and  bastioned 
gates  are  in  a  perfect  state  of  preservation.  Think 
of  America  in  possession  of  the  finest  walled  city 
now  intact! 

The  sun  was  setting  as  we  drove  over  the  Bridge 
of  Spain,  the  lamps  were  lighted  and  a  continuous 
procession  of  vehicles  was  crossing  it,  which  made 

10 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

progress  slow.  On  the  right  bank  a  row  of  white 
balconied  houses  hung  over  the  river  and  a  cocoa- 
nut  palm  swayed  on  the  light  breeze,  which  came 
down  the  river  as  the  sun  set.  There  were  tables 
on  the  balconies,  and  squares  of  brilliant  glass  in 
the  windows  of  the  Spanish  Casino  gave  a  pleasant 
tropical  impression  to  the  scene.  To  the  right  the 
outlines  of  convents,  domes,  and  towers  stood  in 
relief  against  the  gorgeous,  golden-red  sunset,  and 
below  them  and  inclosing  them  the  dark,  massive 
walls  of  the  ancient  city. 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 


II 

BEGINNING    HOUSEKEEPING    IN    MANILA 

MANILA,  June  n,  1900. 

Y\7"E  have  been  two  weeks  in  Manila,  and  have 
*  *  had  "  the  hottest  spell  and  the  stormiest  spell 
of  weather "  this  city  has  experienced  in  twenty 
years.  The  hot  weather  was  damp  and  prostrating, 
and  the  change  even  if  it  came  in  the  shape  of  a 
typhoon  was  welcome.  During  the  storm  the  rain 
swept  into  all  our  rooms  facing  the  bay.  Our  din- 
ing-room floor  was  a  small  lake  and  we  had  to  eat 
in  the  front  living  room.  I  had  to  move  from  my 
bedroom,  for  the  salt  spray  fell  on  my  face  as  I 
lay  in  bed,  driven  in  by  the  wind  from  the  crests 
of  tremendous  waves  which  came  dashing  against 
the  sea  wall.  Although  the  center  of  the  typhoon 
was  off  the  coast  some  three  hundred  miles  the  tides 
were  unusually  high.  All  the  steamers  and  trans- 
ports went  over  to  Cavite,  where  they  are  protected 
from  the  winds,  and  the  Hancock  was  prevented 
from  sailing  on  Friday,  the  I5th.  The  captain  went 
out  as  far  as  Corregidor  twice,  but  returned  on  ac- 

12 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

count  of  the  heavy  sea.  All  the  nipa  houses  in  the 
neighborhood  were  tied  down  by  strong  ropes  which 
the  natives  threw  over  the  roofs  and  pegged  into 
the  ground. 

The  tin  roofs  rattled,  and  loose  pieces  banged  and 
clattered  in  a  startling  way.  Still,  now  that  it  is 
over  and  we  were  not  blown  away,  house  and  all, 
I  think  the  typhoon  must  be  put  in  the  same  category 
with  plague  and  the  white  ants.  They  are  dan- 
gerous, but  not  as  bad  as  they  sound.  We  should 
call  a  typhoon  a  heavy  storm. 

Now  I  must  tell  you  about  our  house  and  where 
it  is  situated.  We  live  on  the  shore  of  Manila  Bay 
facing  Corregidor.  The  bay  is  shell  shaped  and  is 
thirty  miles  across.  This  accounts  for  the  unsafe 
harbor,  as  the  wind  sweeps  in  and  raises  tremen- 
dous waves,  which  are  likely  to  beach  vessels  on  the 
sandy  shore.  Cavite  lies  to  our  left  some  distance 
around  the  bay,  and  opposite,  at  the  right  of  Cor- 
regidor, is  a  high  mountain.  The  sunsets  are  mag- 
nificent from  our  windows,  for  we  look  to  the 
west  over  the  bay.  Our  house  is  but  twenty  feet 
from  the  water  and  is  protected  from  the  waves 
by  a  sea  wall.  The  street  in  front  of  us  is  not  very 
wide,  and  directly  opposite  are  nipa  shacks,  where 
most  interesting  natives  live.  The  worst  feature 
of  the  house,  and  one  to  which  I  am  still  unrecon- 
ciled, is  the  entrance.  Fancy  passing  through  a 
stable  to  reach  one's  drawing-room!  There  is  a 

13 


passage  from  the  street  about  twelve  feet  wide  be- 
tween our  house  and  a  small  nipa  hut,  where  half- 
naked  natives  lean  out  of  a  window  watching  every- 
thing coming  and  going  with  the  greatest  interest. 
At  the  end  of  the  passage  are  stalls  for  two  ponies, 
and  I  am  going  to  put  up  a  large  sign,  "  Look  out 
for  heels,"  because  the  big  house  door  opens  close 
to  their  tails,  and  they  are  vicious  little  fellows. 
Having  passed  the  heels  you  find  yourself  in  the 
carriage  and  feed  house,  and  must  pick  your  way 
between  wheels,  bales  of  hay,  and  bags  of  grain,  to 
the  main  stairway.  Then  you  are  safe  and  may 
mount  to  the  upper  floor  where  we  live. 

Your  first  impression  will  be  that  we  keep  trained 
baboons  to  do  housework,  for  the  probability  is  that 
a  half-naked,  dark-skinned  creature  is  rushing  up 
and  down  the  hall  on  all  fours,  with  big  burlap 
socks  under  his  hands  and  feet.  He  is  only  a 
monkeylike  coolie  who  polishes  the  narra  floors. 
At  one  end  of  the  hall  is  the  dining  room  facing  the 
sea,  at  the  other  end  the  sitting  room  overlooking 
the  street.  There  is  no  plaster  used  in  the  interior 
of  the  Manila  houses,  they  are  all  ceiled  in  the 
native  hard  wood  called  narra.  This  looks  like 
mahogany  and  takes  a  fine  polish,  but  the  native 
taste  prefers  something  gay,  so  the  beautiful  wood 
is  either  painted,  or,  as  is  usually  the  case,  is  cov- 
ered with  cloth,  which  is  then  frescoed  in  fantastic 
designs.  The  natives  are  really  clever  at  this  sort 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

of  decoration,  and  can  paint  all  manner  of  myth- 
ological scenes,  terraces  and  landscapes  on  your 
walls,  to  say  nothing  of  the  Goddess  of  Liberty  and 
the  American  flag  in  a  stiff  breeze.  This  is  the 
latest  style.  Most  of  our  walls  are,  unfortunately, 
painted,  but  the  living  room  is  untouched  and  the 
walls  are  of  beautiful  dark  narra.  When  we  moved 
in  there  were  two  chandeliers  hanging  from  the 
ceiling  containing  an  assortment  of  pink  and  blue 
lamps.  They  have  been  removed,  and  we  are  hav- 
ing electric  lights  put  in  by  small  native  boys,  who, 
I  am  certain,  know  nothing  about  their  business.  I 
have  expressed  my  fears  on  this  point  in  halting 
Spanish  to  the  contractor,  but  he  only  smiles,  and 
I  realize  that  my  vocabulary  is  limited  on  the  tech- 
nical side. 

All  one  side  of  the  house,  that  facing  the  street, 
is  window  space.  Sliding  shutters  divided  into  lit- 
tle squares  filled  with  flat  cut  shells  take  the  place 
of  glass  windows.  The  light  is  dim  and  cheerless, 
but  the  shutters  are  only  closed  when  it  rains;  then 
the  house  is  gloomy,  and  I  feel  homesick  for  we 
can't  see  out  of  doors.  Inside  green  blinds  keep 
out  the  sunshine  and  let  in  air  during  the  day.  At 
night  we  open  all  the  doors  and  windows  to  let  in 
the  air,  and  sometimes  we  are  awakened  by  a  rush 
of  water  when  a  sudden  rain  comes  up.  Then 
everyone  rushes  to  shut  his  windows.  They  are 
large  and  almost  always  stick  in  the  grooves,  and 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

many  a  time  I  have  become  dripping  wet  before  I 
could  shut  the  rain  out.  These  windows  are  anathe- 
ma to  el  Senor  and  Danny,  for  although  they  stick 
at  first,  when  they  finally  give  way  they  let  them- 
selves fly  and  jam  one's  fingers  most  cruelly.  In 
two  weeks  there  has  been  more  violent  language 
used  by  otherwise  mild-mannered  men  than  I  ever 
heard  before  in  my  life.  It  is  especially  funny  to 
hear  Danny  in  the  middle  of  the  night  on  such 
occasions,  and  although  I  am  really  sorry,  for  I  know 
how  it  hurts,  I  can't  help  laughing.  One  can  hear 
every  sound  in  these  houses,  for  in  order  to  have  a 
circulation  of  air  there  are  open  spaces  over  all  the 
doors,  and  many  of  the  walls  are  filled  in  at  the  top 
with  a  grille.  This  is  another  feature  of  Manila 
houses  to  which  I  object. 

Last  week  we  began  cleaning  and  painting,  and 
ever  since  our  house  has  been  full  of  Filipinos  who 
have  somehow  become  part  of  our  household  in  this 
easy-going  place.  I  have  gained  quite  an  insight 
into  native  character  through  this  experience.  The 
Filipinos  are  like  children  and  love  to  do  every- 
thing but  the  thing  they  are  set  to  do.  They  run 
to  assist  the  house  boys  in  their  work;  they  advise 
me  about  arranging  my  furniture;  and  insist  upon 
unpacking  china  when  they  are  hired  to  paint  the 
walls.  They  are  always  playing  tricks  on  each 
other,  and  are  unfailingly  good-natured,  but  the 
painting  progresses  very  slowly;  often  they  dis- 

16 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

appear  altogether,  but  come  back  again  smiling 
next  day,  explaining  it  was  a  fiesta.  From  an 
ethnological  standpoint  this  is  all  interesting,  but 
I  can  imagine  that  here  is  displayed  one  of  the 
race  characteristics,  which,  after  the  novelty  is  gone, 
"  weareth  the  Christian  down." 

Among  the  pleasant  features  of  our  house  is  the 
view  from  the  dining-room  window.  There  are 
always  large  steamers  loading  and  unloading  in  the 
bay  during  fine  weather.  On  the  opposite  shore 
we  can  see  Cavite,  where  the  war  ships  glisten  in 
their  white  paint.  The  Mariveles  Mountains  are 
picturesque  and  bold  in  their  outline.  The  natives 
beach  their  fishing  boats  every  morning  just  under 
our  windows  and  hold  a  free  auction  there  about 
five  o'clock.  You  can  imagine  the  chattering  and 
chaffering.  The  fishermen  are  big,  dark-skinned 
fellows,  and  sometimes,  in  addition  to  their  boat- 
load of  fish,  they  bring  in  great  devil  fishes.  The 
shrimp  fishers  with  V-shaped  scoop  nets  pass  up  and 
down  in  the  water  in  smooth  weather.  Sometimes 
they  are  all  men,  but  women  and  children  join  in 
this  sport.  The  greatest  fun  of  all  is  to  watch  the 
cocheros  ride  their  horses  into  the  surf  for  a  bath. 
The  little  ponies  enjoy  it  as  much  as  the  boys  who 
ride  them,  and  they  spring  over  the  crests  of  the 
waves  in  fine  style.  Sometimes  an  unexpectedly 
high  wave  takes  the  pony  off  its  feet  and  throws 
his  rider,  but  the  boy  always  has  a  fast  hold  of  the 

17 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

pony's  neck  and  comes  up  dripping  and  shouting. 
Not  so  do  the  small  babies  whose  mothers  take 
them  down  for  a  morning  bath  and  duck  them  mer- 
cilessly in  the  water  and  then  set  them  in  the  sun  to 
dry  while  they  have  a  little  fun  themselves  regard- 
less of  their  shrieking  offspring,  who,  having  re- 
covered their  suspended  breath,  rend  the  air  with 
their  protests.  The  young  girls  bathe  in  bevies, 
like  red  birds.  They  loosen  their  long  hair  and  tie 
their  scarlet  skirts  below  their  arms.  They  are  a 
pretty  sight. 

We  are  within  three  minutes  of  the  Luneta,  the 
celebrated  Manila  drive.  A  military  band  plays 
there  every  evening,  and  the  carriages  pass  slowly 
around,  all  driving  in  one  direction.  In  Spanish 
times  the  Archbishop's  equipage  was  the  only  one 
permitted  to  pass  in  the  opposite  direction.  There 
is  an  extension  of  the  drive  along  the  shore,  where 
everyone  whips  up  the  ponies  and  races  with  his 
neighbors.  The  walls  of  the  city  rise  above  the 
moat  at  the  left  and  above  them  can  be  seen  the 
pink  walls  of  the  Augustine  Convent,  the  towers 
of  churches,  and  the  roof  of  the  cathedral.  The 
drive  ends  at  Fort  Santiago  and  the  river,  where 
there  is  plenty  of  native  life  on  the  cascos  to  be 
studied.  I  can  understand  why  everyone  goes  to 
the  Luneta  in  the  evening.  There  is  always  a  breeze 
and  there  are  no  mosquitoes ;  besides  that,  one  meets 
everyone  he  knows,  and  ladies  visit  in  each  other's 

18 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

carriages  in  an  informal  way.  I  saw  an  amus- 
ing sight  the  other  night.  Everyone  was  out 
and  there  were  a  number  of  fine  turnouts.  Many 
of  the  officers  have  their  coachmen  and  footmen  in 
livery,  of  which  the  native  boys  are  very  proud. 
Lorenzo,  our  driver,  has  petitioned  for  a  suit,  but 
he  looks  so  clean  and  natural  in  his  flapping  white 
shirt  and  neat  straw  hat  I  hate  to  make  him  look 
like  a  monkey  in  a  tall  hat  and  brass  buttons.  The 
high  boots  are  the  most  cherished  possession  of 
a  Filipino  coachman,  even  more  tenderly  guarded 
than  his  tall  hat  with  the  red-white-and-blue  cock- 
ade. On  the  evening  I  refer  to,  just  in  front  of 
us  near  the  band  stand  was  an  unusually  swell  rig 
belonging  to  a  young  captain  whom  we  knew.  The 
coachman  was  as  immaculate  as  his  master.  His 
belt  was  so  tight  as  to  almost  cut  him  in  two. 
The  footman,  a  very  small  boy,  stood  attention  at 
the  horses'  heads,  and  the  captain  was  devoting  him- 
self to  a  very  pretty  girl.  Suddenly,  as  such  things 
happen  in  the  tropics,  the  heavens  opened  and  the 
flood  descended.  It  descended  on  the  captain  and 
the  pretty  girl  in  her  low-necked  dress,  but  what 
did  that  matter  to  the  coachman  and  the  tiger !  Was 
it  not  descending  on  their  hats  and  boots  and  soak- 
ing their  new  livery  with  its  brass  buttons  and  belt? 
In  about  two  minutes  both  of  these  correct  cocheros 
had  divested  themselves  of  hats,  coats,  and  boots 
and  were  just  about  to  proceed  further  when  the 

19 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

hand  of  the  horrified  captain  descended  on  the  in- 
nocent back  of  the  driver  and  stopped  him  from 
taking  off  his  trousers.  I  shall  instruct  Lorenzo, 
in  case  I  buy  him  a  livery,  to  keep  it  on,  at  least 
the  main  part  of  it,  even  if  the  heavens  fall. 

Socially  Manila  is  very  gay,  and  we  have  made 
many  acquaintances.  With  the  exception  of  the 
Filipinos  our  callers  have  been  chiefly  army  officers 
and  their  wives — to  me  a  new  and  interesting  vari- 
ety of  American.  They  are  delightful  people.  The 
women  are  vivacious,  talkative,  and  always  in  a 
rush.  They  find  the  climate  "  awful,"  but  it  cer- 
tainly puts  no  visible  damper  on  their  gay  spirits. 
They  are  kind-hearted,  too,  and  good-natured,  and 
I  am  sure  will  prove  an  adaptable  type  for  this  hot 
country. 

The  strenuous  and  conscientious  New  Englander 
would  soon  kill  herself  in  her  efforts  to  live  up  to 
her  ideals  in  this  land  of  no  particular  standards. 
Our  daily  life  has  already  settled  into  a  groove. 
We  take  a  swim  in  the  bay  before  breakfast,  and 
after  coffee,  bread,  and  fruit,  with  bacon  and  eggs 
for  those  who  can  eat  them,  el  Senor  and  his  sec- 
retary go  to  the  Ayuntamiento.  If  it  does  not  rain 
they  walk,  but  Elena  and  I  have  not  yet  ventured 
on  foot,  so  we  drive  to  the  Escolta  to  shop,  or  to  the 
Commissary  to  order  the  groceries.  We  have 
tiffin  at  half-past  twelve,  and  then  everyone  goes 
to  bed  for  a  siesta.  El  Senor  and  his  secretary  are 

20 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

back  at  the  Ayuntamiento  by  three  o'clock,  but  no 
one  who  is  not  obliged  to  do  so  goes  out  or  makes 
calls  before  five  o'clock.  After  tea  we  drive  on  the 
Luneta  until  dinner  at  eight  o'clock. 

Last  evening  we  dined  with  the  chief  quarter- 
master and  his  wife,  who  live  near  us  and  have 
been  especially  kind  to  us.  The  chief  quartermaster 
is  a  most  important  functionary  in  the  army.  I 
had  always  thought  of  the  army  as  made  up  of 
fighting  men,  soldiers,  and  their  officers,  and  had 
no  idea  of  the  numbers  of  other  persons  connected 
with  it  who  never  fight  at  all,  but  keep  supply  stores 
and  groceries,  build  houses,  and  do  all  sorts  of  other 
things.  There  are  army  coal  yards  and  butcher 
shops  and  hospitals  in  Manila,  and  the  managers 
of  all  these  departments  are  officers,  and  woe  to 
the  innocent  civilian  who  addresses  a  major-sur- 
geon as  doctor,  or  speaks  of  a  quartermaster  cap- 
tain as  "  our  coal  man."  The  commissary  corps  is 
the  most  useful  and  attractive  in  the  army,  from  my 
point  of  view.  It  keeps  the  grocery  store,  and 
there  we  get  all  our  supplies  at  a  price  which  makes 
living  here  possible. 

I  think  that  the  butcher  business  must  be  new  to 
the  officers,  or  maybe  it  is  under  the  direction  of 
the  volunteers.  The  allowance  of  each  subscriber 
for  meat  (one  sends  in  a  written  application  for  a 
certain  number  of  pounds  per  diem)  is  cut  off  from 
that  part  of  the  animal  which  happens  to  be  under 

21 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

the  butcher's  knife  when  his  name  turns  up.  Thus 
\ve  never  know  what  we  shall  have  for  dinner. 
Sometimes  it  is  a  fine  leg  of  mutton  or  a  filet  of 
beef,  but  the  next  day  it  may  be  soup  meat,  or  a 
chunk  off  the  neck,  and  this  usually  happens  when 
we  have  company.  I  found  the  cook  in  despair  the 
other  day,  for  a  dinner  party  was  on  the  programme 
and  he  had  received  a  yard  or  two  of  thin  beef  six 
inches  wide,  which  looked  like  a  long,  narrow  piece 
of  red  and  white  calico.  If  it  storms  we  get  no 
meat  for  three  or  four  days.  Far  be  it  from  me 
to  complain,  for  we  pay  only  six  cents  a  pound  and 
the  meat  is  good,  and  in  town  it  costs  from  fifty 
to  seventy-five  cents  a  pound.  Besides,  as  everyone 
is  served  in  the  same  way,  there  is  a  certain  amount 
of  amusement  in  the  situation.  Chickens,  eggs,  veg- 
etables, fruit,  and  fish  we  buy  in  the  native  markets. 
Lai  Ting,  our  head  boy,  does  this,  and  brings  me 
each  night  a  neatly  written  bill  he  calls  his  "  ex- 
pense." He  can  write  fair  English,  but  his  spelling 
is  pure  chino.  "  Spinige  "  and  "  paty  "  puzzled  me 
for  some  time.  He  always  charges  sixteen  cents 
for  a  "  carige  "  in  which  he  drives  back  with  his 
supplies.  He  also  includes  in  his  daily  purchases 
four  cents'  worth  of  "  vegtibels  "  and  twenty  cents 
of  "  pig  "  for  the  kitchen  "  chow."  The  boys  do 
not  eat  our  food,  but  each  has  an  allowance  of  one 
pound  of  rice  a  day  and  the  "  pig  and  vegtibels." 
The  boys  make  a  percentage  on  all  they  buy,  but 

22 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

as  we  cannot  speak  Tagalog,  and  do  not  know  how 
much  things  ought  to  cost,  I  am  sure  it  is 
cheaper  in  the  end  and  less  trouble  to  let  them  take 
their  squeeze.  The  native  vegetables  include  peas, 
beans,  squashes,  cucumbers,  turnips,  tomatoes, 
sweet  pepper,  and  a  thin  asparagus.  The  lettuce  is 
not  bad,  but  we  do  not  dare  eat  it.  The  fish  market 
is  well  supplied  with  many  kinds  of  fish;  a  variety 
like  shad  is  especially  good.  Shrimps,  prawns, 
crabs,  and  lobsters  abound,  and  a  fine  fat  little 
oyster  is  very  delicate.  Of  fruits  there  are  bananas 
in  many  varieties,  pineapples,  mangoes,  oranges  and 
several  less  known  fruits. 

Now  that  you  see  that  we  are  not  starving,  I 
will  tell  you  that  Manila  has  very  good  shops  where 
one  can  get  any  reasonable  article,  not  always  of  the 
very  best,  but  good  enough  and  not  too  extrava- 
gant in  price.  We  could  have  bought  here  all  of 
the  little  things  of  which  we  laid  in  such  a  store. 
Hairpins  are  plentiful;  do  you  remember  the  gross 
I  brought  over  with  me?  All  sorts  of  thin  dress 
materials  are  abundant  and  cheap.  A  friend 
came  here  Sunday  in  a  very  pretty  striped  lawn 
which  cost,  the  dressmaker's  bill  included,  only 
two  and  a  half  dollars  gold. 

It  is  hot  but  there  has  been  a  breeze  ever  since 
we  arrived,  in  the  morning  and  evening,  and  now 
at  the  end  of  three  weeks  I  do  not  notice  the  heat 
as  at  first.  We  are  not  very  much  annoyed  by  ants, 

23 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

although  I  do  not  enjoy  going  into  the  kitchen  in 
the  evening,  for  the  cockroaches  are  as  big  as  mice. 
By  cleaning  the  floors  with  petroleum  and  putting 
it  around  our  windows  we  are  not  overrun  by  them, 
and  we  hope  that  being  so  near  the  sea  will  keep 
off  these  pests.  We  have  no  house  snake,  which  I 
was  led  to  believe  lived  in  every  attic,  nor  have  I 
seen  anyone  selling  them  on  street  corners.  A 
chair  in  the  house  has  been  eaten  by  white  ants,  but 
as  that  creature  feeds  in  the  dark  and  has  to  tunnel 
from  one  place  to  another,  I  am  not  as  terrified  as 
I  was  before  I  left  home.  It  is  remarkable  how 
persons  take  things  for  granted  in  this  world.  We 
find  many  Americans  in  Manila  doing  queer  things 
because  they  have  heard  that  they  must  do  so. 
Almost  everywhere  we  go  we  find  the  dining-table 
legs  standing  in  tins  of  kerosene  oil,  and  the  floors 
reeking  with  the  same  ill-smelling  stuff.  This  is 
because  there  is  a  tradition  that  without  this  pre- 
caution ants  will  run  all  over  the  table  and  food. 
If  the  table  be  well  wiped  off  after  every  meal,  all 
the  crumbs  brushed  away,  and  no  food  kept  in  the 
dining  room,  one  need  not  be  overrun  with  ants.  I 
must  confess  that  these  little  pests  are  very  clever. 
All  the  kitchen  tables  and  movable  closets,  where  we 
keep  sugar  and  provisions,  and  the  ice  chest,  stand 
in  kerosene  tins,  yet  sometimes  the  ants  make  a 
chain  and  swing  themselves  from  the  wall  to  the 
closets.  No  one  is  shocked  to  see  his  guests  picking 

24 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

ants  out  of  their  tea  cups.  At  first  I  used  to 
ask  nervously:  "What  are  you  doing?"  "Oh, 
nothing,  only  fishing  for  ants,"  would  be  the  cheer- 
ful answer. 

Our  boys  do  startling  things  sometimes.  The 
other  evening  Roman  punch  was  on  the  menu.  It 
was  with  great  difficulty  I  succeeded  in  making  Lai 
Ting  understand  that  this  silly  custom  of  eating 
ice  in  the  middle  of  the  dinner  was  only  another 
"  Melica  side  "  vagary.  He  was  dignified  and  re- 
served, but  consented  to  carry  out  my  instructions. 
After  we  had  been  served  with  the  punch  I  saw  to 
my  consternation  that  the  boys  were  passing  the 
chocolate  cake  to  the  mystified  company.  There 
was  nothing  to  do  but  beg  my  guests  not  to  take  it 
at  that  stage  of  the  dinner,  and  Lai  Ting  withdrew 
it,  giving  me  a  reproachful  look.  "  I  no  understand 
Melica  side,"  was  his  comment  later.  The  passing 
of  butter  and  milk  in  the  tin  cans  it  is  sold  in,  is 
another  habit,  the  result  of  tradition.  It  is  a  native 
custom  also.  At  the  most  elegant  Filipino  dinners 
the  butter  is  always  floating  about  in  a  tin.  My 
boys  have  learned  to  make  butter  balls,  and  pour 
the  tinned  cream  into  the  milk  jug,  but  one  evening 
Lai  Ting  passed  cranberry  sauce  in  the  tin. 
One  of  my  friends  seeing,  no  doubt,  my  disapprov- 
ing expression,  comforted  me  by  saying :  "  Never 
mind  that,  one  can  see  that  it  has  just  been  opened, 
so  we  shall  not  be  poisoned." 

25 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

On  Sunday  last  we  had  an  interesting  experience, 
a  visit  to  a  Catholic  priest  living  some  distance 
from  Manila  in  a  small  town  on  Laguna  de  Bay. 
We  went  with  the  health  officer,  his  wife,  and  two 
other  army  men.  Judge  Taft,  General  Wright, 
and  ourselves  were  the  guests.  We  started  at  eight 
o'clock  from  the  river  side  and  went  up  the  Pasig 
to  Laguna  de  Bay,  a  large  lake  some  fifteen  miles 
distant.  The  day  was  lovely,  and  a  breeze,  almost 
cool,  made  us  really  comfortable  for  the  first  time 
in  a  week.  The  river  Pasig  is  not  very  deep  or 
wide  or  very  clear,  but  the  banks  are  picturesque 
although  low,  with  banana  trees  and  palms  and 
rows  of  native  houses  on  either  side.  Here  and 
there  are  large  stone  churches,  often  in  ruins. 

One  is  surprised  at  the  few  reminders  of  war  to 
be  seen  in  Manila.  I  cannot  think  how  the  town 
could  have  been  bombarded  with  so  little  damage. 
The  native  houses  are  built  of  bamboo  and  thatched 
with  nipa,  a  palmlike  plant,  and  they  can  be  easily 
rebuilt,  but  the  European  residences  are  all  unin- 
jured. We  saw  one  large  church  which  had  been 
destroyed  all  but  the  walls;  a  large  library  was 
burned  with  it.  Last  Sunday  was  St.  John  the 
Baptist's  day  and  the  river  banks  were  gay  with 
girls  and  women  in  their  bright  skirts,  promenad- 
ing back  and  forth.  The  natives  have  a  custom  of 
baptizing  each  other  on  this  feast  day  by  throwing 
water  over  one  another  from  little  black  bowls, 

26 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

or  they  carry  squirt  guns  of  bamboo  that  throw  a 
stream  of  water  many  feet.  The  small  boys  and 
men  with  these  bowls  and  sprinklers  run  about, 
chasing  girls  and  women,  especially  those  with 
fresh-starched  dresses,  squirting  water  over  them 
and  calling  out :  "  I  baptize !  I  baptize !  "  The 
river  was  full  of  bathers  doing  the  same  thing. 
We  passed  a  wedding  party  in  a  canoe,  decorated 
with  long  wreaths  of  hibiscus.  Beyond  the  low 
banks  and  over  the  rice  fields,  dotted  here  and 
there  with  banana  or  palm  groves,  we  saw  the  blue 
mountains. 

The  Laguna  de  Bay  is  not  a  pretty  lake ;  it  is  too 
big.  We  crossed  to  the  little  port  of  Binangonan, 
but  as  our  tug  was  too  large  to  go  hear  the  shore 
we  landed  in  dugouts,  long  narrow  canoes  hollowed 
out  of  trees.  They  are  easily  upset,  and  the  pas- 
sengers are  obliged  to  sit  in  the  bottom  of  the 
boat,  and  sit  still.  The  natives  paddle  with  oars 
like  large  wooden  spoons.  When  we  reached  the 
rocky  landing  the  padre  came  down  to  meet  us,  ac- 
companied by  the  captain  in  charge  of  the  garrison. 
War  must  develop  patience,  for  the  captain  was 
of  the  nervous  American  type,  straight  nose,  good 
mouth,  tall  and  spare,  whose  brother  had  been  gov- 
ernor of  Ohio,  and  who  had  seen  something  of  life. 
He  was  living  in  the  small  village  in  a  nipa  hut, 
commanding  about  fifty  men,  cut  off  from  every- 
thing and  everybody.  Even  with  company  it  would 
3  27 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

be  considered  exile,  but  he  cheerfully  remarked  he 
"  had  to  chase  around  with  himself."  The  padre 
had  just  come  back  from  Manila,  where  he  had 
been  three  days  in  prison  for  aiding  and  abetting 
the  insurgents,  but  it  was  considered  good  policy 
to  let  him  go  free  as  he  was  willing  to  take  the 
oath  of  allegiance.  We  went  on  shore  between 
files  of  soldiers,  who  were  drawn  up  to  salute  the 
Commission,  and  the  ladies,  and  proceeded  at  once 
to  the  padre's  house. 

It  was  the  first  time  I  had  been  in  a  nipa  house. 
They  are  built  on  poles  about  six  feet  from  the 
ground,  and  to  get  in  one  climbs  up  a  frail  bam- 
boo ladder.  The  floor  is  made  of  split  bamboo, 
laid  in  such  a  way  that  there  is  a  space  between  the 
pieces  and  one  can  see  everything  going  on  below. 
The  walls  are  lined  with  matting  woven  of  flat  split 
bamboo.  Of  course,  there  can  be  no  privacy  in 
such  houses,  and  they  are  full  of  animal  life.  There 
were  two  young  and  pretty  Filipinas  in  the  house 
who  could  speak  Spanish  and  who  excused  the 
sister  of  the  padre  to  us,  as  she  was  cooking  dinner, 
they  said.  This  filled  us  with  dismay,  for  our  host- 
ess had  provided  a  hearty  luncheon  of  ham,  bis- 
cuits, hard-boiled  eggs,  pickles,  and  so  on,  which 
we  had  eaten  just  before  leaving  the  tug.  You 
know  how  one  feels  after  three  hard-boiled  eggs 
and  other  picnic  delicacies.  So  when  we  saw  an 
immense  soup  tureen  appear  and  the  table  laid  with 

28 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

forks  and  knives  we  began  to  fear  that  we  were 
in  for  another  meal.  The  padre  soon  came  in  with 
the  rest  of  the  party.  We  were  afraid  that  Judge 
Taft  in  mounting  the  ladder  would  bring  down  the 
house,  and  as  Elena  pulled  her  chair  to  the  table 
the  leg  went  through  one  of  the  cracks  in  the  floor, 
and  she  had  to  be  assisted  to  her  feet. 

When  dinner  was  announced  we  tried  to  explain 
that  we  had  dined  already,  but  in  vain.  We  were 
compelled  to  seat  ourselves  and  pretend  to  eat.  It 
was  not  uninteresting  to  taste  the  new  dishes,  and 
some  of  the  courses  were  very  good.  One  blood-red 
sausage  skin  filled  with  the  worst-looking  chopped 
stuff  I  ever  saw  was  really  delicious.  Some  queer 
wine  was  served.  It  was  extremely  hot  and  we 
were  obliged  to  drink  the  health  of  the  "  American 
nation  and  the  Filipino  people,  one  and  the  same." 
Speeches  were  made,  and  Judge  Taft  said  that  if 
President  McKinley  had  told  him  that  the  eating 
of  two  dinners  in  the  tropics  within  two  hours  was 
one  of  the  duties  of  his  office  he  would  have  declined 
the  place.  After  dining,  we  went  to  the  church, 
where  the  Commissioners  further  endeared  them- 
selves to  the  people  by  attending  a  cock  fight  in 
front  of  the  sacred  edifice.  Elena  reported  that 
she  had  seen  much  livelier  ones  in  barnyards  at 
home,  for  the  cocks  jumped  toward  each  other 
sidewise  once  or  twice,  gave  one  or  two  feeble 
pecks,  and  then  both  ran  off. 

29 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

This  has  been  our  most  exciting  adventure  this 
week,  although  I  lost  my  purse  yesterday.  It  had 
two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  gold  in  it,  and  was 
stolen  by  a  clerk  in  a  shop.  The  shopkeeper  re- 
turned me  the  money  and  a  new  purse  on  my  repre- 
senting that  it  was  a  bad  thing  for  his  shop  to  have 
such  things  happen. 

MANILA,  July  n,  1900. 

F^OR  a  week  I  have  been  trying  to  write  a  letter 
but  cannot  summon  energy  to  do  so.  I  have  be- 
gun several  and  then  have  succumbed  to  the  climate. 
It  is  not  very  hot  and  there  is  a  breeze  through  the 
house  all  the  time,  but  the  atmosphere  is  damp, 
warm,  and  clammy.  The  effort  of  moving  my 
hands  puts  me  in  a  perspiration.  Yesterday, 
through  the  Hongkong  mail,  we  received  two  let- 
ters from  home.  We  especially  enjoy  letters  arriv- 
ing between  transports,  for  they  have  the  added 
interest  of  being  a  surprise. 

Sunday  we  went  to  church  for  the  first  time. 
There  were  eleven  persons  present  including  the 
clergyman.  But  of  the  eleven  six  were  men,  quite 
an  unusual  proportion  from  the  American  stand- 
point. The  minister  was  a  weak  brother,  and  I  did 
not  wonder  that  his  flock  was  small,  but  I  learn  that 
he  is  a  good  man  and  struggles  here  alone  without 
any  support.  He  was  sent  out  by  a  board  of  mis- 
sions, and  after  he  had  been  out  here  a  few  months 

30 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

his  pay  was  stopped  as  the  church  work  did  not 
flourish.  In  the  mean  time  he  had  established  a 
reading  room  in  his  house,  and  had  started  sociables 
and  little  entertainments  among  the  soldiers.  He 
found  some  employment  in  town  and  keeps  his  mis- 
sion going.  There  is  a  much  better  attended  and 
more  interesting  service  in  the  walled  city,  but  I  told 
Elena  that  we  were  evidently  doomed  to  listen  to 
this  man's  aimless  meandering  because  he  was  good 
and  poor  and  was  delighted  to  see  us.  The  Epis- 
copalians are  trying  to  build  a  church  in  Manila  and 
have  collected  over  five  thousand  dollars  toward  it. 
It  is  said  that  immediately  the  committee  selects  a 
piece  of  ground  and  begins  negotiations  to  buy  it 
the  friars  stop  the  sale.  They  are  determined  not 
to  let  a  Protestant  church  be  built  if  they  can  pre- 
vent it. 

The  improvements  in  our  house  are  progressing 
slowly.  The  electric  lights  are  not  yet  in  and  the 
plumbing  is  only  half  done.  We  have  been  un- 
packing some  of  our  possessions  and  find  that  they 
suit  our  house  very  well.  In  Japan  we  bought 
some  bronzes  and  china,  and  in  Hongkong  we  pur- 
chased tables,  chairs,  a  cabinet,  and  desk  of  black 
wood.  These,  added  to  rattan  chairs  and  sofas, 
furnish  our  living  room.  Last  week  we  heard  of  a 
Spaniard  who  was  selling  out  his  goods  and  we 
bought  sixty-four  plants.  Among  them  were  some 
handsome  palms.  They  are  in  ornamental  pots  and 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

lend  an  air  of  elegance  to  our  domicile  which  was 
wanting  before.  The  longer  we  stay  here  the  better 
we  like  it,  and  when  our  lights  are  in  we  shall  feel 
quite  comfortable.  We  are  not  at  all  lonely. 
Almost  every  evening  some  one  calls,  and  often 
three  or  four  come  together.  They  are  all  army  or 
navy  people  and  are  pleasant  and  we  get  acquainted 
with  them  at  once. 

One  of  the  things  that  give  rather  a  fascinating 
air  of  adventure  to  our  life  here  is  the  guard  con- 
sisting of  three  soldiers,  who  sit  about  with  their 
guns  in  the  lower  part  of  the  house  bored  to  death. 
It  is  amusing  to  watch  them,  and  see  how  differ- 
ent their  attitude  -is  toward  civilians  from  their 
manner  when  officers  call.  When  they  hear  anyone 
coming  in  the  gate  they  half  straighten  up.  If  the 
caller  be  a  second  lieutenant  they  spring  up  and 
stand  at  attention  straight  as  ramrods,  but  even 
be  it  the  president  of  the  Commission  himself  they 
visibly  relax  their  limbs  and  stretch  out  their  legs 
as  they  loll  back  in  their  chairs  while  he  walks  past 
them.  Martial  law  prevails,  and  after  nine  o'clock 
no  one  may  go  through  the  streets  without  a  pass, 
and  every  householder  must  hang  a  lantern  out- 
side his  door. 

It  often  strikes  me  as  peculiar  that  I  go  out  driv- 
ing quite  alone,  leaving  three  stalwart  soldiers  be- 
hind me  in  the  house.  One  day  I  found  six  men, 
each  with  a  double  row  of  ammunition  in  his  belt, 

32 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

as  I  came  downstairs  to  go  into  town.  This  war- 
like preparation  quite  alarmed  me. 

"  What  is  the  matter  ?  "  I  inquired. 

"  Oh,  nothing,  only  an  uprising  is  planned  for  to- 
day, ma'am,"  the  sergeant  cheerfully  replied. 

I  hesitated  a  moment  and  then  drove  off,  con- 
fident that  if  my  diminutive  coachman  tried  to  kid- 
nap me  I  could  put  him  hors  de  combat  in  no  time. 
In  spite  of  these  warlike  preparations  Manila  is  a 
tranquil  city.  Political  affairs  are  much  more  en- 
couraging than  they  seemed  to  be  when  we  left 
America.  All  organized  resistance  is  over.  There 
are  a  great  many  bandits  and  robbers,  but  every 
day  they  are  being  captured  and  their  ammunition 
discovered.  The  dreaded  rainy  season  is  worse 
for  the  Filipinos  than  for  our  men,  for  now  we 
hold  all  the  towns  and  they  are  "  chasing  them- 
selves around  the  country,"  as  a  young  officer 
put  it.  They  do  not  seem  to  be  such  a  fierce 
race  as  they  are  reported.  They  strike  me  as  lazy, 
polite,  and  good-natured.  They  may  be  treacher- 
ous, and  everyone  says  they  are,  but  on  the  sur- 
face the  lower  classes  are  certainly  very  agree- 
able. 

We  have  a  neighbor  opposite  who  lives  in  a 
nipa  hut.  He  has  a  wife  and  two  children,  and  is  a 
fisherman.  Once  or  twice  we  have  thrown  candy 
out  of  the  window  to  the  children.  Last  Sunday 
morning  the  little  girl  came  up  the  stairway  leading 

33 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

her  small  brother  by  the  hand.  He  wore  a  gauze 
shirt  that  came  about  two  inches  below  his  armpits. 
The  little  girl  wore  a  pink  calico  chemise  and  car- 
ried in  her  hand  a  plate  of  fresh  crabs.  This  was 
a  gift  in  return  for  the  candy.  I  offered  to  pay  for 
them  but  she  ran  away,  shaking  her  head.  As  soon 
as  I  have  the  energy  to  fill  my  kodak  I  am  going  to 
send  you  some  photographs  of  the  house  and  our 
neighbors. 

Next  to  the  fisherman's  family  lives  a  couple  who 
have  aroused  my  curiosity  to  a  high  degree.  They 
are  both  quite  fair;  have  brown  hair  and  almost 
white  skins.  The  house  consists  of  two  rooms 
built  on  posts  about  six  feet  from  the  ground.  The 
front  of  the  house  is  always  wide  open,  so  we  can't 
help  seeing  what  goes  on  inside.  In  front  of  one 
window  is  the  dining  table,  and  opposite  the  other 
is  a  piano.  The  commonest  nipa  shack  in  Manila 
usually  contains  one  of  these  instruments.  A  small 
boy  is  maid  of  all  work  in  the  domicile  opposite. 
He  cooks,  cleans,  attends  his  mistress,  and  although 
ordinarily  his  dress  is  a  ragged  undershirt  and  a 
short  pair  of  white  drawers,  three  times  a  week  he 
mounts  the  box  of  a  very  neat  victoria,  and  sits 
beside  the  driver  in  all  the  glory  of  a  white  suit, 
belt,  boots,  and  brass  buttons.  For  a  time  I  im- 
agined these  neighbors  had  rich  friends  who  had  not 
deserted  them  in  their  poverty,  but  on  the  contrary 
it  is  they  who,  attired  in  their  best,  go  driving  in  a 

34 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

hired  rig  three  times  a  week  on  the  Luneta.  It  is 
as  good  as  a  play  to  see  them  return  home,  climb 
up  a  little  bamboo  ladder,  take  off  their  fine  attire 
and  sit  down  to  a  big  round  bowl  of  soup,  which  the 
small  boy  in  scanty  garments  sets  before  them.  My 
lady  wears  a  chemise  and  a  yard  or  so  of  red  calico 
around  her  body,  while  her  husband,  divested  of 
his  black  frock  coat  and  immaculate  trousers,  is 
cool  and  comfortable  in  a  low-necked  shirt  and  a 
pair  of  drawers.  They  sit,  one  opposite  the  other, 
over  a  soup  bowl  and  ladle  out  the  liquid  with 
spoons,  eating  it  directly  from  the  soup  tureen. 
They  do  not  seem  to  have  much  liking  for  forks, 
and  eat  rice  with  their  fingers.  Early  one  morning 
I  saw  the  man  standing  at  the  open  window  warm- 
ing carabao  milk  over  a  lamp  and  then  drinking 
it  out  of  the  saucepan.  I  was  so  interested  in  them 
that  I  asked  the  coachman  who  they  were  and  he 
said  the  man  was  a  poet.  It  reminded  me  they  used 
to  tell  us  in  Spain  that  many  of  the  families  who 
drove  in  fine  equipages  on  the  Paseo  lived  on  beans 
in  order  to  be  able  to  keep  up  appearances.  Our 
neighbors  seem  to  enjoy  life,  too.  The  wife  plays 
the  piano  and  the  husband  sings  every  evening. 
She  bathes  in  the  surf  in  the  morning  with  the 
small  boy  in  attendance.  He  carries  her  sheet  and 
towel  to  the  water's  edge,  and  assists  her  to  do  her 
hair.  All  three  are  gloriously  happy  three  times  a 
week  as  they  parade  in  style  on  the  Luneta,  and 

35 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

after  all,  not  many  of  us  can  count  on  more  than 
that  proportion  of  happy  days. 

I  have  just  returned  from  the  Manila  Aid  So- 
ciety, where  we  have  been  packing  boxes  of  books 
and  articles  for  the  comfort  of  soldiers  in  the  fields 
and  in  hospitals.  So  you  see  I  am  already  doing 
something  useful.  You  have  no  idea  how  many 
things  come  to  the  society  for  distribution,  and  such 
queer  things.  Papers  and  magazines,  of  course, 
fill  the  greater  part  of  the  boxes,  but  people  have 
strange  ideas  of  what  is  suitable  literature  for  sol- 
diers. Last  week  I  unpacked  a  box  of  Police  Ga- 
zettes, and  as  they  were  being  repacked  in  a  box  for 
a  hospital  I-  questioned  the  wisdom  of  the  society 
sending  out  that  class  of  reading  matter.  One  lady 
was  surprised  and  said  that  the  soldiers  loved  the 
Police  Gazette.  One  society  sent  out  a  large  box 
of  woolen  pyjamas  and  in  each  pocket  was  placed 
a  pencil,  a  pocket  handkerchief,  and  a  dainty  paper 
parcel  of  homemade  molasses  candy.  You  can 
imagine  the  state  of  the  pocket.  Not  only  had  the 
candy  melted  and  run  all  over  the  pyjamas,  but 
ants  had  taken  possession  of  the  box.  With  every 
mail  come  extraordinary  letters  written  by  shop 
girls,  mothers,  and  romantic  school  girls.  They 
often  begin  "  Noble  hero,"  and  contain  all  kinds  of 
sickening  stuff.  In  one  little  package  was  inclosed 
a  photograph  of  a  girl  with  two  tiny  spoons  at- 
tached to  it  with  a  yellow  ribbon.  From  a  young 

36 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

girl  in  high  school  came  a  letter  advising  the  young 
soldier  into  whose  hands  the  letter  fell  to  spend  his 
leisure  hours  in  studying  English  literature  instead 
of  in  smoking,  drinking,  and  bad  company.  She 
inclosed  an  outline  of  the  work  he  might  follow. 
These  letters  that  come  to  the  society  are  addressed 
to  no  one  in  particular.  "  To  a  soldier  in  the  Phil- 
ippines." "  Please  forward  to  a  soldier  righting 
for  his  country,  Manila,  P.  I."  So  the  post  office 
sends  them  to  us.  There  are  hundreds  of  Bibles 
sent,  and  in  many  of  them  are  touching  inscriptions. 
Many  a  mother  sends  a  Bible  belonging  to  a  dead 
son.  One,  worn,  and  old,  came  from  a  mother 
whose  son  had  been  killed  in  the  Civil  War  and  died 
with  the  book  under  his  pillow.  We  try  to  give 
these  books  to  the  proper  persons,  generally  the  sick 
in  the  hospitals.  I  have  two  wards  to  visit  every 
week.  Yesterday  I  made  my  first  round.  It's  hard 
work,  but  I  get  on  better  than  I  expected.  The  con- 
valescent men  like  to  talk  and  tell  how  ill  they 
have  been. 

The  membership  of  the  Manila  Aid  consists 
of  both  young  and  old  ladies.  There  were  two 
girls  packing  boxes  to-day  in  the  depths  of  woe 
because  of  the  departure  of  the  I4th  Infantry  for 
China.  One  told  me  they  were  all  "  lovely  officers," 
"  the  sweetest  boys  on  the  Islands." 

Everyone  is  excited  over  the  Chinese  trouble. 
The  news  we  have  is  very  meager  and  there  is  no 

37 


way  of  finding  out  whether  the  foreigners  in  Pekin 
are  dead  or  not.  We  hope  that  the  Government 
will  not  fail  to  replace  the  soldiers  they  are  taking 
away  from  here  with  new  ones.  One  of  our  ac- 
quaintances, who  took  us  on  the  launch  party  to 
Laguna  de  Bay,  is  ordered  to  China.  War  seems 
worse  when  one  is  away  from  it,  just  as  the  plague 
does.  When  thirty  persons  were  dying  a  day  in 
Hongkong  we  went  about  into  shops  and  alleys  and 
never  thought  of  it.  Yet  I  am  worried  to  hear  of 
two  cases  in  San  Francisco.  You  are  no  doubt 
alarmed  when  you  hear  rumors  of  the  uprising  in 
Manila,  but  here  we  do  not  think  about  it. 

I  told  you  that  we  had  bought  another  carriage 
and  ponies,  and  we  have  a  new  coachman.  This 
adds  to  my  discomfort,  as  the  little  animals  stamp 
and  snort  all  night  and  try  to  kick  our  guests  as 
they  pass  them  on  their  way  upstairs.  On  the 
Fourth  of  July  the  town  was  decorated  with  flags. 
The  Filipinos  arranged  pony  races  in  honor  of  the 
Commission  and  gave  a  ball  in  the  evening.  In 
the  afternoon  at  the  theater  there  was  a  public 
school  festival,  where  patriotic  songs  were  sung 
and  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  read  in 
Spanish  and  English.  Americans,  in  spite  of  their 
boasted  sense  of  humor,  show  very 'little  of  it  out 
here.  Last  week  a  prominent  Filipino  leader  was 
confined  in  the  Anda  Street  jail  because  he  was  ad- 
vocating just  such  sentiments  as  were  contained  in 

38 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  which  had 
been  recited  and  sung  by  native  pupils  in  the  public 
schools  on  July  4th.  No  one  commented  on  the 
incongruity. 

We  are  now  the  happy  possessors  of  electric 
lights.  They  turned  on  the  current  last  evening. 
The  mosquitoes  were  numerous  in  consequence,  and 
strange  insects  which  have  not  before  been  in  evi- 
dence came  in  with  the  lights.  As  the  windows  are 
always  wide  open  it  is  impossible  to  keep  them  out. 
The  mosquitoes  are  small  black  creatures  with  no 
voice,  so  they  conceal  their  intentions  until  they  have 
bitten  one.  At  night  Filipino  nets,  woven  like  a  fine 
muslin,  are  hung  over  the  beds,  and  although  they 
keep  out  the  mosquitoes  they  keep  out  the  air  as 
well. 

Since  writing  last  we  have  made  some  changes 
in  our  menage.  Quay,  one  of  our  second  boys,  was 
a  poor  servant  and  a  lazy  fellow,  so  we  sent 
him  back  to  China,  and  Lai  Ting  decided  to  get 
two  in  his  place,  a  boy  for  the  bedrooms  or  the 
"  cabins,"  as  he  calls  them,  and  a  coolie  "  to  work," 
as  he  pathetically  said.  And  now  we  have  Chung, 
the  coolie,  who  does  most  of  the  work.  He  is 
more  like  a  monkey  than  anyone  I  ever  saw.  He 
wears  a  very  short  pair  of  black  paper  muslin 
drawers  and  his  queue.  He  cleans  the  floors,  washes 
the  dishes,  polishes  the  shoes,  waits  on  the  cook, 
runs  errands  for  the  others,  and  last  night  about 

39 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

ten  o'clock  I  went  downstairs  and  he  was  cleaning 
the  room  in  which  our  retainers  hold  their  recep- 
tions. The  boys  sit  around  in  rocking  chairs  in 
their  room  at  all  hours  of  the  day,  and  from  the 
number  of  visitors  they  have  at  meals  I  am  inclined 
to  think  we  keep  a  Chinese  boarding  house. 

July  25,  1900. 

I  WISH  those  persons  in  the  United  States  who 
talk  about  the  cheap  labor  of  the  Orient  were 
obliged  to  depend  on  it  for  a  time.  Our  laundry- 
man  went  to  China  last  week,  and  since  his  depar- 
ture we  have  been  wearing  unironed  clothes,  as  no 
one  stays  long  enough  to  finish  the  washing.  We 
have  found  four  different  washmen  during  the  last 
week.  As  to  house  boys,  I  am  sure  there  is  not 
one  in  Manila  who  knows  how  to  dust,  but  I  am 
disciplining  myself  not  to  have  any  standards,  and 
to  shut  my  eyes  to  all  but  the  most  glaring  faults 
of  my  domestics. 

The  weather  is  fine.  It  rains  for  an  hour  or  two 
early  every  afternoon.  The  mornings  and  evenings 
are  delightful,  and  it  is  warm  enough  at  noon  to 
enjoy  a  siesta.  The  new  carriage  and  ponies  add 
greatly  to  our  enjoyment.  The  little  horses  are  fast 
and  well  matched.  They  are  not  much  larger  than 
good-sized  donkeys,  but  where  all  the  horses  are 
small  one  loses  the  sense  of  proportion,  and  the 
cavalry  horses  and  mules  seem  monstrosities.  When 

40 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

I  see  a  mule  in  the  streets  it  looks  like  an  elephant. 
The  Filipinos  were  much  more  impressed  by  the 
first  shipload  of  mules  which  were  paraded  through 
Manila  than  by  the  American  troops.  As  for  the 
native  ponies  they  all  stampeded,  and  the  "  day  of 
the  entry  of  the  mules  "  is  remembered  by  all  the 
natives  of  Manila.  I  am  sure  no  city  of  the  same 
size  has  so  many  vehicles  for  hire,  or  so  great  a 
variety  as  to  kind  and  degrees  of  dilapidation  as 
Manila.  The  fares  are  not  high,  for  one  may  drive 
in  a  two-wheeled  cart  for  seven  and  a  half  cents  the 
first  hour  and  five  cents  the  succeeding  hours.  By 
driving  one  must  understand,  however,  bumping 
along  over  ill-paved,  uneven  roads,  through  streets 
where  car  tracks  are  either  sunk  below  the  level  of 
the  pavement  or  raised  several  inches  above  it.  Be- 
fore we  found  a  suitable  turnout  we  hired  a  pair 
of  ugly  little  nags  and  a  victoria  which  had  reached 
the  condition  of  the  "  one-hoss  shay,"  but  it  was  the 
only  rig  we  could  find  and  it  cost  us  seventy-five 
dollars  gold  a  month.  The  Filipino  ponies  are  not 
strong  and  can  be  driven  but  half  a  day,  so  one  is 
obliged  to  have  a  pair  for  the  morning  and  another 
for  the  afternoon. 

There  are  not  many  amusements  aside  from 
purely  social  functions  to  take  up  one's  time. 
Among  the  Filipinos  there  are  few  entertainments 
of  any  kind.  There  is  a  theater,  but  on  account  of 
the  martial  law,  compelling  persons  to  have  passes 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

or  to  be  at  home  in  the  evening,  there  are  no  per- 
formances. There  is  said  to  be  a  fine  orchestra, 
but  it  is  not  giving  any  concerts.  The  afternoon 
drive  on  the  Luneta,  between  five  and  seven  o'clock, 
is  the  event  of  the  day.  There  is  the  comfort  of 
dispensing  with  hat  and  gloves,  and  many  ladies 
and  almost  all  young  girls  drive  in  low-necked  din- 
ner or  evening  dresses.  This  evening  has  been  es- 
pecially pleasant.  The  band  was  good  and  there 
was  a  full  moon;  the  waves  were  mere  silver  rip- 
ples, and  there  were  big  lurid  clouds  on  Mount 
Mariveles.  Sometimes  a  shower  comes  up  so  sud- 
denly that  one  is  drenched  before  the  boys  can  put 
up  the  carriage  cover,  but  that  did  not  happen  to- 
night. 

To-morrow  afternoon  we  are  to  give  a  reception 
to  all  the  school-teachers  in  Manila.  The  new 
superintendent  of  schools  has  arrived  and  they  are 
to  meet  him  here.  The  Filipinos  seem  very  much 
astonished  that  we  should  invite  the  teachers  socially 
to  our  house.  One  of  our  friends  said  it  was  the 
first  time  in  the  history  of  the  Philippines  that  any- 
one connected  with  the  government  had  treated  the 
native  teachers  as  if  they  were  on  the  same  social 
plane  with  himself. 

July  26,  1900. 

/TAHE    Commissioner's    Banquete    to   the    Manila 
J-    teachers,"  as  the  native  papers  called  our  sim- 
ple afternoon  tea,  passed  off  with  apparent  success. 

42 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

The  Filipino  guests  came  at  half  past  three,  al- 
though they  were  invited  for  four  o'clock.  They 
came  together  and  stayed  all  the  afternoon.  There 
were  all  kinds  and  conditions  of  men  and  women : 
black,  brown,  yellow,  and  white.  From  the  Sisters' 
schools  in  the  walled  city  came  placid  nuns  who  sat 
together  in  the  corner  and  received  much  attention 
from  the  younger  teachers,  who  reverently  kissed 
their  hands.  The  Jesuit  College  was  represented 
by  a  half  dozen  priests,  fat  and  gay,  who  made 
complimentary  speeches  to  the  young  ladies,  and 
stood  about  laughing  and  talking  with  their  hands 
folded  over  their  stomachs.  There  was  quite  a  bit 
of  style  in  the  dressing  of  the  ladies,  and  many 
made  a  brave  display  of  jewelry.  Some  of  it  was 
very  pretty,  and  the  settings  were  antique.  Although 
stiff  calicoes  predominated,  many  of  the  elder  teach- 
ers wore  silk  brocaded  skirts.  The  majority  had 
black  embroidered  aprons  trimmed  with  lace.  Al- 
most without  exception  the  women  were  graceful  and 
self-possessed.  I  find  here,  as  in  Spain,  many  elab- 
orate forms  which  Americans  call  insincere  and  tire- 
some, but  which  Spaniards  consider  essential  to 
polite  intercourse.  These  forms  serve  to  dispel  any 
hesitation  on  the  part  of  guests  as  to  what  they 
shall  say,  and  neither  hostess  nor  visitor  is  at  a  loss 
for  the  proper  few  moments'  conversation  on  enter- 
ing and  leaving  the  drawing-room.  My  experience 
in  Spain  and  Mexico  stood  me  in  good  stead,  and  I 
4  43 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

was  able  to  get  through  the  afternoon  without  em- 
barrassment. 

The  men  were  not  as  attractive  as  the  women. 
They  were  neither  as  good-looking  nor  as  well 
dressed.  They  mopped  their  perspiring  faces  and 
clung  together  in  groups;  they  did  not  move  about 
and  talk  to  the  ladies,  and  I  could  not  get  them  to 
go  into  the  dining  room,  as  they  said  it  was  the  cus- 
tom for  the  ladies  to  eat  first.  I  finally  prevailed 
upon  some  of  the  less  conservative  to  accompany  the 
ladies,  telling  them  it  was  an  American  fiesta.  I 
think  they  did  not  like  the  ices  very  well,  they  were 
evidently  too  sour,  and  the  cakes  and  punches  were 
tasted  hesitatingly,  as  we  would  experiment  with 
foreign  dainties.  I  suppose  I  ought  to  have  em- 
ployed a  native  caterer,  and  have  served  the  frozen 
molasses  which  they  gave  us  the  other  day  at  Bin- 
angonan. 

Another  American  innovation  was  the  absence  of 
chairs.  Filipinos  always  sit  down  at  receptions, 
and  their  houses  are  furnished  principally  with 
chairs.  They  don't  understand  moving  about. 
However,  the  women  and  girls  chattered  and  seemed 
to  have  a  good  time,  and  probably  the  men  enjoyed 
it  as  well  as  any  men  anywhere  ever  enjoy  an  after- 
noon reception.  The  band  made  a  fine  showing 
and  played  dance  music  all  the  time,  so  it  was  almost 
as  noisy  as  a  "  tea  "at  home.  It  was  not  hot,  for 
the  wind  blew  through  the  house  from  the  sea.  The 

44 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

American  teachers  were  very  elegant.  Some  of 
them  came  late  and  most  of  them  had  nothing  to 
say  to  the  native  teachers.  After  all  it  was  not  so 
bad  as  it  might  have  been,  and  our  guests  expressed 
themselves  as  delighted  with  their  afternoon.  On 
retiring,  each  one  gave  me  his  or  her  name  and  the 
address  of  the  school,  and  invited  me  to  call  and  see 
the  pupils.  This  was  the  modesty  of  persons  who 
will  not  presume  to  ask  me  to  call  upon  them.  We 
sandwiched  in  a  funeral  between  this  reception  and 
a  dance  last  night. 

The  Amnesty  Proclamation  is  to  be  the  occasion 
of  a  three  days'  fiesta,  managed  by  a  Senor  Paterno, 
who  is  making  himself  conspicuous  in  a  truly 
oriental  manner.  The  amnesty  offers  pardon  and 
immunity  from  punishment  to  all  Filipinos  who 
will  lay  down  their  arms  and  take  the  oath  of  al- 
legiance. The  fiesta,  consisting  of  a  banquet  in 
honor  of  the  military  governor  and  a  procession 
with  fireworks,  seems  to  be  a  way  of  making  Senor 
Paterno  prominent  as  a  mediator  between  the  Amer- 
icans and  the  Insurrectos,  for  Senor  Paterno  advo- 
cates independence,  if  possible,  and  if  not,  a  pro- 
tectorate. There  is  something  queer  in  celebrating 
the  amnesty  and  demanding  a  protectorate  at  the 
same  time.  However,  the  military  governor  has 
arranged  to  censor  all  the  speeches,  and  the  speakers 
will  not  be  allowed  to  promulgate  any  treasonable 
idens.  Many  army  officers  seem  to  think  that  the 

45 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

fiesta  is  a  mask  for  an  uprising  on  a  large  scale, 
and  all  American  women  and  children  have  been 
warned  not  to  go  on  the  streets.  There  was  an 
officer  here  last  night  who  assured  me  that  the 
banquet  was  a  trap,  and  that  the  Americans  who 
went  would  probably  all  be  murdered.  As  the 
Commissioners  are  invited  and  have  accepted  the 
invitation  it  was  a  pleasant  suggestion.  The  mili- 
tary governor  has  refused  to  be  present  from  the 
beginning,  but  the  promoters  still  call  it  a  banquet 
in  his  honor.  Our  guards  were  tripled  last  night 
and  their  belts  contain  three  rows  of  cartridges. 
They  told  me  their  orders  are  "  shoot  to  kill."  This 
seems  a  cheerful  way  to  prepare  for  a  fiesta,  doesn't 
it?  An  officer  who  was  dining  here  last  evening 
had  on  his  pistols ;  he  made  me  nervous.  We  don't 
believe  an  insurrection  is  being  planned,  but  one 
cannot  tell  what  an  excitable  people  might  do,  and 
it  would  be  easy  to  murder  us  all. 

July  27,  1900. 

TATE  last  evening  we  went  for  a  short  time  to 
*~J  the  Army  and  Navy  Assembly.  I  think  there 
were  about  two  hundred  persons  present.  They 
met  in  the  Provost  Marshal's  building  and  danced 
around  the  corridors.  It  was  stifling  and  unusually 
hot  as  the  building  is  in  the  walled  city.  It  was 
hardly  an  aesthetic  function,  for  after  one  or  two 
dances  the  ladies  began  to  show  the  outlines  of  their 

46 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

shoulder  blades  in  perspiration,  and  the  white  coats 
and  collars  of  the  men  were  wet  as  if  they  had  been 
in  a  tub.  One  young  fellow,  who  was  in  town  over- 
night, had  on  a  new  pink  shirt  under  his  tightly 
buttoned-up  white  coat,  and  early  in  the  evening  the 
pink  color  came  through  in  spots,  making  him  look 
like  a  dime  museum  freak,  and  caused  his  sudden 
departure  from  the  gay  scene.  One  would  think 
only  the  very  young  could  find  any  interest  in 
dancing  here,  but  on  the  contrary  fat  and  middle- 
aged  ladies  are  especially  addicted  to  it.  There  was 
a  good  supper  and  we  met  a  number  of  pleasant 
acquaintances. 

July  28,  1900. 

THIS  morning,  in  spite  of  the  dangerous  fiesta, 
I  went  downtown  to  see  the  decorations.  The 
streets  were  full  of  natives  out  for  a  holiday.  They 
were  laughing  and  having  a  good  time,  enjoying, 
I  suspect,  the  sight  of  the  guards  and  squads  of 
soldiers  patrolling  the  town.  Some  persons  think 
the  rumors  of  uprisings  are  often  started  by  natives 
for  the  fun  of  seeing  the  soldiers  turn  out.  There 
were  a  number  of  arches  decorated  with  pictures 
and  mottoes.  "Viva  la  protectoria! "  "Viva 
America  y  Filipinas ! "  "  Viva  la  Amnestia-1 " 
"Viva  la  Independencia !  "  were  some  of  the  in- 
scriptions. On  one  arch  there  were  pictures  of 
President  McKinley  and  Aguinaldo  inclosed  in  a 
double  frame  of  greens. 

47 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

When  I  returned  to  the  house  I  found  that  the 
Commissioners  had  sent  a  letter  declining  to  be 
present  at  the  banquet,  because  they  had  learned 
the  speeches  were  to  advocate  the  independence  of 
the  Philippines  under  the  protectorate  of  America, 
and  that  reports  of  these  speeches  would  be  circu- 
lated throughout  the  islands.  They  suspected  Pa- 
terno  intended  the  presence  of  the  Commission 
should  suggest  that  they  sanctioned  the  idea.  I 
am  glad  they  are  not  going,  for  I  can't  but  feel 
nervous  over  what  the  army  officers  said  the  other 
night  of  plots  to  assassinate  them.  I  met  some 
Filipino  girls  downtown  this  morning  who  were 
making  all  manner  of  fun  of  Paterno  and  his  ban- 
quet. 

July  30,  1900. 

THE  three  days'  fiesta  ended  last  night  in  a  grand 
fiasco.  This  morning  we  learned  that  after 
the  Commissioners  had  sent  their  letter  withdraw- 
ing their  acceptance  to  the  banquet,  an  order  was 
sent  by  the  military  governor  to  Paterno  forbid- 
ding any  speeches,  and  furthermore  ordering  that 
there  should  be  no  banquet  unless  some  of  the  Com- 
missioners were  present.  This  order  came  too  late 
to  have  the  public  and  guests  notified  and  so  they 
all  assembled  at  the  theater.  The  banquet,  too,  was 
prepared,  but  could  not  be  eaten  unless  at  least  one 
Commissioner  appeared.  Paterno  rushed  out  to 

48 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

Judge  Taft's  and  with  tears  and  on  bended  knee,  so 
to  speak,  begged  him  to  go.  After  a  time  the  judge, 
who  is  the  kindest  of  men,  consented  and  so  the 
dinner  was  served.  To-day  all  Paterno's  enemies 
are  laughing  over  his  failure.  Altogether  the  Am- 
nesty banquet  to  the  military  governor  has  been 
like  a  Gilbert  and  Sullivan  opera.  From  a  woman's 
standpoint  it  seems  queer  that  defenseless  civilians 
were  obliged  to  go  to  a  banquet  soldiers  thought 
it  unsafe  to  attend,  but  there  was  no  doubt  some 
deep  political  reason  we  can't  understand.  The 
failure  of  his  well-laid  plans  must  be  galling  to 
Seiior  Paterno.  All  the  town  is  laughing  at  him, 
and  yet  if  he  had  been  successful  all  would  have 
envied  him.  There  is  something  astonishing  to  us 
in  the  serious  way  these  Filipinos  regard  themselves. 
They  are  immensely  conceited  and  believe  them- 
selves the  center  of  attention  both  in  Europe  and 
America.  A  newspaper  was  sent  me  last  week  in 
which  the  lives  and  deeds  of  prominent  generals 
and  leaders  in  the  insurrection  were  set  forth,  and 
such  expressions  as  "  Europe  applauds  your 
prowess !  "  "  America  stands  humiliated  at  your  pa- 
triotism !  "  "  Remember  the  civilized  world  beholds 
and  wonders !  "  And  these  praises  were  sung  of 
men  whose  names  even  we  do  not  recognize! 
Miguel  this  and  Manuel  that  are  celebrated  as  world- 
renowned  patriots,  or  as  statesmen  "  steeped  in  the 
atmosphere  of  European  diplomacy."  It  is  not 

49 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

strange  that   such   leaders   should   impose   on   the 
masses  of  the  ignorant  who  believe  all  they  say. 

I  think  our  guard  was  rather  disappointed  that 
the  fiesta  went  off  without  any  trouble;  one  of  the 
boys  told  me  he  was  "  aching  for  a  scrap,"  but  an- 
other said  he  didn't  want  "  to  kill  no  niggers,  they 
hadn't  done  nothing  to  him."  It  is  a  miserable 
life — that  of  a  soldier  in  peace — and  I  don't  wonder 
these  boys  would  like  to  see  a  little  active  service. 


Ill 


A    VISIT    IN    APALIT 

MANILA,  August  8,  1900. 

TOURING  the  last  week  we  have  had  two  note- 
U  worthy  experiences.  The  first  one  was  a  ty- 
phoon. It  was  more  severe  than  the  one  of  June. 
The  wind  was  exceedingly  violent  at  times,  and  our 
bedroom  and  dining  room  facing  the  sea  were  unin- 
habitable during  the  height  of  the  storm.  The 
tales  of  mildew  are  beginning  to  be  verified.  Our 
shoes  when  left  undisturbed  for  a  day  or  two  almost 
filled  with  mold,  and  woolen  suits  show  white 
spots  of  the  same  growth.  The  climate  is  ruinous 
to  books,  and  my  leather-covered  copy  of  Browning 
will,  I  am  afraid,  be  spoiled  if  I  keep  it  here.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  has  been  cool  for  a  week.  A 
blanket  on  the  bed  at  night  has  been  necessary,  and 
a  shawl  is  not  too  warm  in  the  evenings. 

The  second  experience  was  a  trip  to  the  country 
and  a  three  days'  visit  in  a  little  town  in  Pampanga. 
We  went  up  on  the  military  train  last  Sunday. 
El  Senor  and  Danny  accompanied  us  for  a  day's 

51 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

outing.  The  trip  occupied  only  two  hours  and  a 
half  and  was  of  course  interesting,  as  it  was  our 
first  view  of  the  Philippines  outside  of  Manila.  The 
country  is  flat  between  Manila  and  the  station  of 
Calumpit,  our  destination,  and  the  fields  in  which 
rice  was  formerly  cultivated  were  neglected  and 
overgrown  with  tropical  vegetation.  There  were 
many  groves  of  bamboo  and  some  cocoanut  palms, 
but  the  general  impression  was  of  a  rather  desolate 
country,  especially  as  the  only  living  beings  to  be 
seen  were  American  soldiers  guarding  the  railway. 
The  road  passed  through  an  insurrecto  district,  and 
there  was  the  added  spice  of  possible  danger.  The 
trains  have  been  recently  attacked,  and  we  carried 
guards  in  the  baggage  car.  General  Grant  was  also 
on  the  train  with  his  staff,  so  we  felt  safe. 

On  reaching  Calumpit  we  were  met  by  the  doctor 
and  his  wife,  whom  we  had  known  on  the  transport 
and  whose  guests  we  were  to  be  during  our  stay  in 
the  small  military  post  of  Apalit,  where  the  doctor 
is  stationed  as  a  contract  surgeon.  Calumpit  lies 
on  the  bank  of  the  Rio  Grande  de  Pampanga,  and 
from  this  small  village  to  the  plaza  of  Apalit  was 
a  drive  of  about  three  miles  along  a  muddy  coun- 
try road  full  of  holes.  The  doctor  came  for  us 
in  a  rickety  old  ambulance  pulled  by  two  raw- 
boned  brown  mules.  It  was  my  first  encounter  with 
the  army  mule  and  the  army  mule  driver,  and  I 
felt  at  the  end  of  the  drive  that  I  had  gained  a  new 

52 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

experience,  although  the  captain  of  the  post  assured 
me  later  that  he  had  sent  the  mildest-mannered 
mule  driver  in  the  post.  However,  I  will  say  that 
one  of  the  mules,  named  Joe,  was  enough  to  make 
even  a  mild-mannered  mule  driver  swear.  He  re- 
garded the  highway  with  aversion  and  was  con- 
tinually trying  to  bolt  into  stone  walls,  nipa  shacks, 
and  the  river.  The  mule  driver  wore  pistols  and 
beside  him  sat  a  guard  with  a  rifle  across  his  knees. 
There  are  said  to  be  ladrones  in  the  neighborhood. 
The  town  extends  in  one  long  street  that  follows 
the  river  from  Calumpit  to  the  church  and  convent 
of  Apalit.  The  street  passes  through  several  bar- 
rios, each  with  its  principal  citizens  who  live  in 
stone  and  wooden  houses  flanked  by  the  thatched 
huts  of  numerous  humble  neighbors,  sometimes  re- 
ferred to  as  "  dependientes."  As  the  ambulance 
rattled  along  the  highway,  the  doorways  and  win- 
dows filled  with  staring,  black-eyed,  round-faced, 
dark-skinned  natives ;  fowls  flew  cackling  across  the 
road,  pigs  sought  refuge  with  goats  and  small 
children  under  the  houses,  while  the  parents  and 
elders  crowded  to  the  front  windows  to  catch  a 
glimpse  of  the  strange  white  women. 

The  chief  manufactures  of  Apalit  and  the  adjoin- 
ing barrios,  as  we  saw  them  along  the  road,  were 
straw  and  bamboo  mats,  bolos,  which  are  sharp, 
murderous-looking  knives,  and  red  pottery  jars  of 
the  useful  domestic  order,  which  stood  by  hundreds 

53 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

drying  in  the  sun.  The  forge  fires  were  abandoned 
at  the  approaching  clatter  of  our  ambulance,  and 
perspiring,  naked  smiths  with  dangerous-looking 
blades  rushed  out  to  stare  at  us  with  mild,  good- 
natured  faces,  in  which  curiosity  was  the  predomi- 
nant emotion  revealed.  The  mat  industry  we  in- 
vestigated later  and  found  the  Apalit  weave  was 
durable,  and  the  weavers  not  altogether  lacking  in 
the  decorative  instinct.  The  wide-necked  ollas  or 
jars  were  too  heavy  to  carry  or  we  should  have 
bought  a  few  on  account  of  their  soft  color  and 
quaint  shapes. 

We  drove  directly  through  the  village  to  the  pub- 
lic square  where  the  church  is  situated.  This  is  a 
well-proportioned,  solid  structure  the  exterior  of 
which  has  some  pretensions  to  architectural  excel- 
lence and  the  interior  shows  the  result  of  artistic 
aspirations.  From  the  tower  we  looked  over  a  flat, 
rich  country  covered  with  maize  and  sugar  planta- 
tions. The  course  of  the  river  was  plainly  indicated 
by  the  bamboo  and  banana  plantations  along  its 
banks.  The  soft  brown  thatch  of  the  nipa  houses 
made  shadows  in  the  greenery,  and  the  red  tile  roofs 
of  the  more  pretentious  houses  accentuated  the  vivid 
colors  of  the  banana  and  bamboo.  The  ylang-ylang 
and  breadfruit  trees  towered  above  the  banana 
groves,  and  off  to  our  left  Mt.  Arayat,  an  isolated 
blue  peak,  was  pointed  out  as  a  refuge  for  all  the 
outlaws  of  the  surrounding  district.  Just  below  us 

54 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

in  the  plaza,  the  exercise  and  parade  ground  of  the 
garrison,  were  throngs  of  natives,  rather  more  con- 
ventional in  attire  than  those  we  had  passed  on  the 
road,  as  became  the  inhabitants  of  the  most  populous 
barrio  on  the  river.  The  stiffly  starched  red  calico 
skirts  of  the  women  and  the  neatly  ironed  white 
shirts  of  the  men  proclaimed  them  citizens  and  not 
mere  country  louts.  The  convento  was  built  with 
the  front  at  right  angles  to  that  of  the  church,  and 
its  cloisters  were  full  of  khaki-clad  soldiers.  On 
the  two  other  sides  of  the  square  were  the  shops  of 
Apalit — nipa  huts  with  counters  in  the  entrances, 
where  customers  could  sit  and  chat  with  the  shop- 
keeper, who  was  almost  invariably  a  woman  or  a 
girl.  The  wares  displayed  were  calicoes  and  textile 
fabrics  and  beer,  soda  water,  and  cigars ;  these  latter 
were  in  great  abundance  as  the  shops  were  patro- 
nized by  the  soldiers. 

We  were  received  in  state  on  our  arrival  by  the 
captain  and  lieutenant  of  the  post,  the  presidente, 
the  padre,  and  the  school-teacher.  All  of  these  gen- 
tlemen, after  the  formal  bows  and  compliments  of 
greeting  were  over,  accompanied  us  to  the  residence 
of  the  doctor,  where  the  whole  company  had  been 
invited  to  dinner.  The  residence  proved  to  be  a 
small  nipa  shack  of  four  rooms.  It  looked  like  a 
playhouse  on  stilts  and  was  open  to  all  four  quar- 
ters of  the  heavens,  as  the  walls  were  flaps  of  woven 
bamboo  which  could  be  raised  and  lowered  at 

55 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

pleasure.  The  entrance  was  at  the  back  of  the 
house,  where  a  square  platform  was  reached  by  a 
steep  bamboo  ladder.  The  platform,  adorned  with 
terra-cotta  water  jars  and  potted  plants,  opened  into 
a  small  apartment  which  served  as  dining  room  and 
kitchen.  The  rather  cramped  quarters  were  filled 
with  smiling  Pampangans,  natives  of  Apalit,  neigh- 
bors of  the  doctor,  who  had  come  in  to  help  cook 
and  serve  the  dinner.  They  were  not  of  the  serving 
class  by  any  means,  but  citizens  of  consideration 
and  means  who  had  brought  their  best  china  and 
napkins  and  their  silver  forks  and  spoons  to  eke 
out  the  slender  stock  of  our  host.  They  greeted  us 
with  perfect  ease  and  gracious  cordiality  and  then 
proceeded  with  their  self-appointed  tasks.  The 
stove  for  which  I  vainly  looked  and  from  whence 
came  the  appetizing  odors  that  filled  the  air  was 
nowhere  to  be  seen, ,  but  on  one  side  of  the  room 
on  a  bamboo  table  was  ranged  a  number  of  terra 
cotta  charcoal  pots,  over  each  charcoal  pot  stood  an 
earthenware  olla,  or  kettle.  In  this  primitive  man- 
ner an  elaborate  dinner  was  being  prepared.  The 
legs  of  the  dining  table  were  standing  in  kerosene 
oil  tins  to  keep  away  ants  and  incidentally  to  pre- 
vent it  from  falling  through  the  bamboo  floor, 
which  was  laid  in  such  a  way  that  it  was  very  much 
like  lattice  work,  and  we  could  look  directly  through 
it  into  tht.  chicken,  pig,  and  goat  pen. 

As  we  sat  down  to  dinner  we  were  greeted  by 
56 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

a  burst  of  music  and  the  "  Washington  Post  "  march 
came  floating  to  our  ears.  The  village  band  in  the 
cleanest  of  white  shirts,  the  tails  flying  in  the  breeze, 
were  ranged  with  their  instruments  under  the  win- 
dow. They  played  a  long  programme,  which  was  a 
veritable  torture  to  our  ears,  so  out  of  tune  were 
their  instruments,  but  they  played  with  vigor  and 
con  anwre.  The  repertoire  included  the  "  Poet  and 
Peasant  "  overture,  Sousa's  marches  and  two-steps, 
the  "  Manila  Waltz,"  and  half  a  dozen  gay  little 
dances.  During  this  concert  we  ate  the  good  things 
provided  by  our  host,  waited  on  by  the  polite  and 
attentive  gentlemen  of  Apalit.  There  was  no  end 
to  the  sweets  which  were  pressed  upon  us  after  we 
had  finished  soup,  a  fish,  like  shad,  from  the  Rio 
Grande,  and  tame  ducks,  a  gift  from  the  presidente 
of  the  town.  There  was  a  great  variety  of  new  and 
interesting  fruits,  and  we  did  full  justice  to  it  all, 
while  listening  with  open  ears  to  the  stories  of 
hikes  through  the  jungle  and  the  driving  out  of  a 
band  of  robbers  that  had  lived  by  raiding  the  prov- 
ince of  Pampanga  from  time  immemorial.  The 
headquarters  of  this  robber  band  had  been  across 
the  Rio  Grande,  and  the  ladrones  were  in  the  habit 
of  suddenly  descending  on  the  unarmed  and  de- 
fenseless inhabitants  of  Apalit  and  the  neighboring 
barrios  "  to  gather  tithes,"  as  they  called  it.  No 
wonder  that  the  Pampangans  from  Apalit  to  Cal- 
umpit  beg  that  the  "  captain  "  may  stay  with  them 

57 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

always,  for  he  has  captured  the  ringleaders  and 
killed  the  remainder  of  the  band.  The  conversation 
turned  to  the  advent  of  the  American  soldiers  in 
the  province  and  the  padre  said,  at  the  news  of  the 
advance  of  the  Americans,  the  friars  advised  the 
burning  of  the  houses  and  the  destruction  of  all 
provisions  and  standing  crops  in  order  that  the 
"  Americanos  "  might  have  no  place  to  sleep  and 
no  food  to  eat.  The  equipment  and  commissary  of 
the  modern  army  had  evidently  not  been  introduced 
into  the  Spanish  army  of  the  Philippines,  and  to  the 
astonishment  of  the  natives,  the  soldiers  brought 
their  own  tents,  and  from  their  rations  many  starv- 
ing Filipinos  had  been  kept  alive. 

The  band  dispersed  after  dinner,  refusing  any 
"  gratificacion "  much  to  our  surprise,  but  they 
went  only  as  far  as  the  neighboring  thicket  and 
there  practiced  all  the  afternoon,  while  we,  the  other 
guests  having  departed,  vainly  tried  to  take  our  in- 
dispensable siesta.  The  bedrooms  were  two  in  num- 
ber and  each  was  completely  filled  with  a  big  four 
poster  Filipino  bed.  There  was  just  room  enough 
for  us  to  get  in  and  out.  As  for  our  clothes  we 
either  put  them  under  the  bed  or  on  top  of  it.  Still, 
after  all,  it  was  a  bedroom  and  served  its  purpose,  for 
it  held  the  bed.  Finding  sleep  impossible  we  talked, 
and  from  the  doctor's  wife,  who  is  an  ideal  pioneer, 
learned  all  about  Apalit,  its  inhabitants,  both  rich 
and  poor,  white  and  brown;  that  the  captain  was 

58 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

an  ideal  commander  of  the  post  with  no  race  preju- 
dice ;  that  he  and  the  "  teniente,"  as  they  call  the 
lieutenant,  were  just  and  kind  to  the  lower  classes, 
but  allowed  no  nonsense;  that  all  the  girls  of  the 
upper  classes  were  their  devoted  admirers,  for  they 
attended  the  balls  and  had  taught  them  to  waltz 
in  American  fashion ;  that  Apalit  was  a  model  paci- 
fied town,  not  a  shot  having  been  fired  since  the 
American  occupation.  This,  however,  did  not  les- 
sen their  vigilance,  and  the  doctor's  wife  showed  us 
her  little  pistol,  without  which  she  never  stirred 
abroad. 

We  learned  that  a  number  of  fiestas  had  been 
planned  in  honor  of  our  visit,  and  that  a  quantity 
of  gifts  had  already  arrived  from  various  persons 
of  consideration.  This  news  caused  us  to  repair 
to  the  kitchen  where  we  found  Ambrosio,  a  "  house 
maid  "  he  would  have  been  called  had  he  been  a 
girl,  sitting  at  the  table  dissolved  in  tears  but  eating 
sticky  "  sighs  of  love  "  and  sugar  "  kisses  "  with  an 
unimpaired  appetite.  On  inquiry  we  learned  that 
Ambrosio,  who  is  fourteen,  has  a  sweetheart,  in  the 
soft  Spanish  tongue  a  novia.  He,  the  novio,  wishes 
to  marry  and  she  has  the  same  ambition.  On  this 
festal  Sunday  when  all  the  world  of  Apalit  was  out 
in  its  best  to  see  the  strange  white  senoras  from 
America,  the  father  of  the  little  novia  had  locked 
up  her  clothes  and  kept  her  at  home,  and  had  beaten 
Ambrosio  who,  as  the  novio,  had  protested.  What 
5  59 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

was  to  be  done?  The  parents  of  both  threatened 
a  beating  with  a  flat  bamboo  in  case  any  more  talk- 
ing of  marriage  was  heard.  We  gave  our  sage 
counsel  and  advised  waiting  until  Ambrosio  attains 
the  mature  age  of  sixteen,  and  Ambrosio  wiped  his 
eyes  on  the  end  of  the  table  cloth  and  proceeded, 
much  comforted,  to  devour  more  "  kisses "  and 
"  sighs  of  love."  Our  gifts,  spread  out  on  a  bam- 
boo shelf,  consisted  of  flowers,  fruits,  sweets,  and 
the  half  of  a  tender  little  kid,  not  yet  weaned  from 
its  mother. 

While  we  were  examining  the  gifts  two  solemn 
middle-aged  females  in  chemise  and  sarong,  that  is, 
a  piece  of  calico  wound  about  the  body,  with  bare 
legs  and  feet,  their  hair  done  in  a  tight  round  knob 
at  the  top  of  the  head,  a  horn  dressing  comb  thrust 
into  it,  came  up  the  ladder.  They  carried  something 
in  a  bamboo  leaf  and  advanced  silently  toward  us, 
offering  it  to  the  doctor's  wife  and  pointing  to  us. 
They  spoke  no  word,  knowing  it  was  useless,  but 
squatted  down  on  the  floor  fixing  us  with  their  eyes 
and  awaited  results.  Opening  the  banana  leaf  we 
discovered  three  young  ears  of  corn,  warm  from 
the  kettle,  and  Ambrosio,  being  called  in  as  inter- 
preter, explained  that  the  doctor's  wife  on  sev- 
eral occasions  had  related  that  in  America  people 
boiled  and  ate  green  corn  and  had  urged  Am- 
brosio's  mother  and  all  her  relatives  to  adopt  the 
American  custom.  So  these  simple  creatures  had 

60 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

gathered  three  young  ears  and  boiled  them  and 
were  now  patiently  waiting  to  see  the  Senoras  eat 
them. 

The  doctor's  wife  is,  as  I've  said,  an  ideal  pioneer 
in  this  new  country.  She  likes  the  natives,  has  a 
strong  sense  of  duty  toward  them  and  a  feeling  that 
we  must  all  help  the  government  in  the  work  of 
pacification.  She  is  abnormally  sensitive,  and  her 
bete  noir  is  the  possibility  of  hurting  a  native's 
feelings.  So,  having  learned  that  these  confiding 
creatures  had  taken  her  admonitions  to  heart,  and 
not  wishing  to  go  back  on  her  word,  she  said 
solemnly:  "Girls,  we  must  eat  them."  She  meant 
the  ears  of  corn,  but  from  her  tone  one  might  have 
thought  she  meant  the  two  women.  Falling  in  with 
the  absurd  situation  Elena  and  I  each  took  a  cob 
and  sitting  down  in  the  window  began  to  gnaw  the 
tough  little  kernels.  The  doctor's  wife  explained 
to  Ambrosio  that  our  corn  in  America  was  tender 
and  that  we  ate  it  with  salt  and  butter.  "  How 
fine,"  she  exclaimed  with  the  optimism  which  is  her 
predominant  trait  of  character,  "  if  we  could  teach 
these  poor  creatures  the  use  of  a  new  £ood."  As 
our  visitors  showed  no  signs  of  going  and  as  the 
corn  was  like  cow  fodder,  I  suggested,  in  order  not 
to  hurt  their  feelings,  we  dismiss  them  with  a  gift. 
So  Ambrosio  gathered  up  some  remnants  of  the 
dinner  and  edged  them  out  of  the  house.  They  de- 
parted silently  as  they  came,  and  I  wonder  if  our 

61 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

example  will  cause  boiled  corn  to  become  a  diet  in 
their  households. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  we  started  off  for  a  barrio 
some  miles  down  the  river  where  a  banquet  had 
been  prepared  in  our  honor.  We  were  hot,  sleepy, 
and  tired,  and  the  ambulance,  with  Joe  and  the  mild- 
mannered  mule  driver,  was  very  uncomfortable. 
However,  we  were  interested  to  meet  the  family  of 
sisters  who  had  invited  us,  and  the  captain  and 
teniente  predicted  the  air  would  revive  us.  We 
drove  through  the  same  staring  crowds  of  natives, 
through  banana  groves  still  sparkling  with  rain- 
drops from  the  recent  shower.  The  river  was  pink 
from  the  reflected  brightness  of  a  gorgeous  sunset. 
The  family  we  were  about  to  visit  had  been  prom- 
inent in  the  early  days  of  the  insurrection.  The 
father  lived  in  Manila,  had  been  a  member  of  Aguin- 
aldo's  cabinet  and  had  played  a  conspicuous  part 
in  a  political  way  under  the  Spaniards.  He  is  now 
coming  into  notice  as  a  friend  of  the  Americans, 
which  causes  his  enemies  to  call  him  a  turncoat. 
His  daughters,  four  in  number,  the  children  of  his 
first  marriage,  are  living  in  Apalit  with  their  aunt 
and  a  young  uncle.  I  gave  up  trying  to  understand 
all  the  ramifications  of  the  family  tree,  for  anyone 
who  tries  to  follow  the  connections  of  a  Filipino 
family  will  soon  find  himself  bewildered;  parientes, 
as  they  call  relatives,  are  legion,  and  cousins  to  the 
fortieth  degree  are  recognized.  The  house  before 

62 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

which  the  ambulance  drew  up  stood  back  from  the 
road  in  a  garden.  Half  a  dozen  scantily  clad  men 
servants  and  numerous  children  were  running  about, 
and  as  many  more  peered  out  of  the  windows  and 
doors,  or  hung  over  the  balustrade  of  a  big  square 
stone  veranda  without  a  top  that  projected  from  the 
second  story  of  the  long,  low  house.  The  veranda 
was  approached  by  a  wide  stone  stairway. 

In  the  country,  as  well  as  the  city  houses,  the 
ground  floor  of  a  Filipino  dwelling  is  given  over 
to  the  animals,  servants,  stores,  and  everything  of 
that  kind.  The  family  lives  on  the  second  floor. 
The  outside  stone  stairway  is  a  feature  of  all  the 
better  houses  in  Apalit.  It  is  picturesque  and  me- 
diaeval, and  gives  a  certain  distinction  to  the  plain 
square  houses.  At  the  top  of  the  stairway  we 
passed  through  an  arch  to  the  veranda  where  roses 
were  growing  in  pots  and  big  green  glazed  and 
dull-red  water  jars  stood  in  rows.  The  four  sisters 
were  awaiting  us,  and  many  gracious  good  wishes 
and  elaborate  compliments  were  showered  upon  us 
as  they  led  us  into  the  entrance  hall  and  thence  into 
the  reception  room.  The  sisters  were  all  rather  at- 
tractive. They  looked  intelligent  but  were  not 
pretty.  In  Filipino  fashion  they  were  thickly  pow- 
dered, and  this  gave  a  peculiar  lilac  tinge  to  their 
brown  skins.  Their  gowns  were  fresh  and  beauti- 
fully embroidered,  and  their  necks  and  ears  glis- 
tened with  jewels. 

63 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

The  rooms  into  which  we  were  ushered  were  low ; 
the  walls  and  ceilings  were  whitewashed;  the  floors 
were  polished  mahogany,  and  the  furniture  con- 
sisted of  chairs,  a  piano,  and  table.  On  the  walls 
were  a  gilt-framed  mirror  and  prints  of  religious 
subjects.  The  impression  was  of  coolness  and  of 
immaculate  cleanliness,  and  it  struck  me  at  once  that 
the  room  was  in  harmony  with  the  place  and  people. 
The  house  swarmed  with  servants,  dirty  bare- 
legged men,  women,  and  girls,  clad  in  rags.  They 
ran  about  fetching  and  carrying,  stopping  often  to 
gaze  at  us  in  open-mouthed  wonder.  After  we  were 
finally  seated  a  small  boy  entered  with  a  tray  of 
delicate  white  flower  wreaths,  and  the  sisters  hung 
them  about  our  necks.  Then  a  glass  of  sweet  wine 
was  passed  to  each  one  of  us.  We  spent  quite  half 
an  hour  in  hearing  how  greatly  the  honor  of  our 
visit  was  appreciated,  and  protesting  that  we  were 
the  ones  honored  by  such  a  reception.  After  this 
the  dinner  was  served,  and  we  filed  out  to  a  table 
laid  with  glass,  china,  and  silver  that  surprised  us 
in  no  small  degree.  The  service  was  the  finest 
French  porcelain,  with  a  monogram  in  gold  in  the 
center  and  a  handsome  border.  The  monumental 
centerpiece  was  crystal  and  silver,  and  a  procession 
of  ornamental  dishes  containing  sweets  stretched 
the  length  of  the  board.  Two  curious  decorations 
attracted  my  attention  at  once.  They  were  silver 
pineapples  on  standards,  with  holes  all  over  them 

64 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

into  which  were  stuck  slender  stems  of  white  wood, 
the  other  end  being  fashioned  into  all  kinds  of 
shapes — fans,  leaves,  roses,  and  flowers  of  many  vari- 
eties. These  looked  like  huge  bouquets  of  paper 
flowers,  but  were  nothing  more  nor  less  than  tooth- 
picks. They  are  most  delicately  cut  out  of  a  single 
piece  of  soft  white  wood,  and  show  great  skill  in 
carving.  One  old  man  spends  all  his  time  in  carv- 
ing toothpicks. 

The  dinner  was  good,  but  dining  or  rather  the 
feeding  of  one's  guests  is  a  serious  affair  in  the 
Philippines.  All  four  of  our  hostesses  and  their 
young  uncle  kept  their  eyes  on  our  plates  and  we 
were  stuffed  as  if  for  the  slaughter.  They  had  no 
end  of  queer  sweets,  rather  sticky  and  clogging  to 
the  American  taste;  and  wine,  warm  champagne, 
and  ice  cream,  the  latter  in  our  honor.  It  was  made 
of  carabao  milk  and  was  not  bad  if  one  could  forget 
how  a  carabao  looks.  After  dinner  we  had  music 
and  dancing,  and  were  delighted  with  the  young 
uncle  of  the  girls.  He  is  a  charming  young  man 
educated  in  Europe,  yet  not  spoiled  by  his  sojourn 
there.  He  was  gay,  unaffected,  and  simple  in  his 
manners.  He  is  clever,  too,  and  manages  the  large 
estate  owned  by  an  elder  sister,  who,  it  appeared,  is 
a  woman  of  character  and  position  in  Pampanga. 
She  did  not  appear  at  the  dinner  and  we  did  not  see 
her  until  just  as  we  were  leaving,  when  a  tall  dark 
"  Indian  woman  "  appeared,  who  was  dressed  in  a 

65 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

straight  narrow  skirt  and  a  cotton  jacket.  She  ex- 
tended a  hand  in  greeting,  and  our  young  host  pre- 
sented her  with  all  due  deference  and  courtesy  as 
a  lady  who  had  never  learned  Spanish.  No  one 
seemed  disturbed  by  her  sudden  appearance  and 
there  was  no  attempt  to  keep  her  in  the  background, 
but  this  dispenser  of  diamonds  and  dinners,  for  she 
owned  the  house  and  all  it  contained,  preferred  to 
superintend  the  kitchen  maids  and  be  presented  to 
her  guests  later.  Finally,  we  left  our  hostesses  after 
many  promises  to  return  soon,  and  drove  back  to 
the  doctor's  shack,  through  the  grove  of  bananas  and 
palms.  A  heavy  dew  was  gathering  on  its  foliage 
and  the  leaves  glittered  like  polished  silver.  It  was 
like  being  in  fairy  land,  to  drive  through  the  trop- 
ical forest  under  the  full  moon. 

After  settling  ourselves  for  the  night,  and  tired 
out  with  our  long  day,  what  should  turn  up  but 
the  band.  It  was  maddening,  and  yet  not  wishing 
to  hurt  the  feelings  of  the  gentlemen  in  white  shirts 
we  endured  the  strains  of  "  Just  One  Girl,"  "  Whis- 
tling Rufus  "  and  other  choice  selections  for  over  an 
hour.  The  doctor's  wife,  true  to  her  mania  for  paci- 
fying the  natives,  had  the  nerve  to  call  out  mil  gracias 
(a  thousand  thanks)  as  they  went  off.  The  doctor  and 
I  hissed  her.  Then  came  an  awful  night.  The  nipa 
hut  was  like  a  bamboo  cage;  it  creaked  and  swayed 
with  the  least  breeze.  The  sides  of  the  walls  were 
open  for  air,  and  visions  of  the  bolo  makers  per- 

66 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

sisted  in  coming  to  mind.  I  heard  insurrectos  whis- 
pering under  my  bed  and  coming  up  the  ladder. 
Every  time  anyone  moved  the  whole  house  groaned. 
I  know  I  did  not  get  forty  winks  all  night.  Next 
day  we  had  more  presents  from  neighbors,  another 
dish  of  stewed  kid,  and  "sighs  of  love"  and  besos 
or  "  kisses  "  of  sugar  and  eggs.  We  had  ates,  a 
fruit  like  a  small  green  pineapple  filled  with  black 
seeds  and  a  sweetish,  creamy  pulp,  lanzones,  a  small 
fruit  which  exudes  a  sticky,  milky  juice  and  con- 
tains a  small  lemonlike  fruit  divided  like  an  orange. 
The  fruit  itself  is  covered  by  a  skin,  bitter  as  qui- 
nine, and  contains  a  seed  with  a  bitterer  taste  still, 
but  within  the  skin  and  surrounding  the  seed  is  a 
substance  that  is  said  to  have  a  "  flavor  for  angels." 
Although  one  seldom  escapes  the  quinine,  still  the 
thought  of  again  catching  the  marvelous  flavor  is 
so  fascinating  that  one  keeps  on  eating  until  the  last 
lanzone  disappears. 

We  went  to  the  weekly  market  at  Calumpit  one 
morning  and  bought  mats.  I  am  going  to  have  one 
woven  for  you  as  I  know  you  would  like  them. 
Elena  bought  two,  and  I  tell  you  this  so  you  may 
know  her  chaste  taste  approves  of  them.  The  dress 
of  the  Filipino  woman  is  very  cool  and  we  are  going 
to  have  some  made  to  wear  in  the  house.  The  chil- 
dren dress  exactly  like  the  grown  people  and  are 
quaint  and  pretty  in  their  little  beaver-tail  trains.  Be- 
fore we  left  Apalit  an  evening  soiree  and  an  eleven 

67 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

o'clock  collation  were  given  in  our  honor,  both  with 
music.  This  was  a  repetition  of  the  other  visit,  only 
longer.  The  dinner  was  at  noon  and  we  had  the 
same  numberless  courses  of  meat,  wines,  champagne, 
and  sweets.  After  it  was  over  we  all  went  to  bed. 
Filipino  beds  are  monumental  constructions,  four 
posters  with  canopied  tops;  woven  bamboo  takes 
the  place  of  a  mattress,  and  over  it  is  laid  a  mat  and 
a  sheet,  the  latter  for  honored  guests.  In  each  bed 
are  two  rolls  covered  with  red  cloth;  on  special  oc- 
casions they  are  put  into  white  ruffled  slips.  These 
rolls  are  called  "  widows,"  and  they  are  used  to 
prop  you  up  when  your  bones  ache.  In  the  walls 
of  the  house  are  many  bullet  holes,  which  are  re- 
minders of  the  fighting  between  the  insurgents  and 
the  Americans.  Our  hostesses  took  the  siesta  with 
us  on  mats  on  the  floor.  This  is  the  way  they 
sleep.  As  they  don't  wear  stockings  all  they  do 
when  they  go  to  bed  is  to  take  off  their  slippers 
and  the  stiff  handkerchiefs  which  they  wear  around 
their  necks.  It  must  be  much  easier  than  our  way 
when  one  is  sleepy  and  tired.  They  are  fond  of 
bathing  and  put  on  clean  clothes  every  morning 
after  a  tub.  Great  wardrobes  were  filled  with 
dresses.  I  became  quite  interested  in  one  of  the 
girls,  and  during  the  hot  hours  and  the  siesta  she 
told  me  some  blood-chilling  tales  of  the  friars  dur- 
ing the  Spanish  regime,  things  that  had  happened 
to  relatives  and  friends.  Then  she  told  me  how  she 

68 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

and  her  sisters  fled  at  the  approach  of  the  Americans 
and  lay  hidden  for  days  after  burying  all  their  valu- 
ables. When  they  finally  ventured  back  to  the 
house  great  was  their  amazement  to  find  it  and  their 
belongings  untouched.  They  then  began  to  think 
that  the  Americanos  were  not  as  black  as  they  had 
been  painted. 

I  must  bring  this  letter  to  an  end.  There  was  so 
much  that  was  novel  in  our  experience  I  felt  you 
would  like  to  hear  it  and  I  have  drawn  it  out  un- 
pardonably.  We  went  back  to  Manila  in  good 
shape  with  many  regrets  at  leaving  the  country. 

The  night  after  our  arrival  a  big  storm  came  up 
which  still  continues.  The  waves  are  dashing  wild- 
ly against  our  breakwater.  I  sat  up  all  last  night 
expecting  the  roof  to  be  blown  away,  but  it  is  still 
intact.  The  noise  of  the  wind  and  the  rattling  of 
the  loose  ends  of  the  tin  roofing  is  deafening.  Three 
native  houses  in  our  block  were  blown  down  last 
night,  and  the  shore  is  strewn  with  wreckage. 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 


IV 


THE    ROUTINE 

MANILA,  August  12,  1900. 

WE  went  to  a  ball  last  evening  given  at  the  Bank 
House.  This  is  the  residence  of  the  manager 
of  the  Hongkong  and  Shanghai  Bank.  It  is  situ- 
ated beyond  the  town  in  the  open  country  and  as 
an  uprising  had  been  announced  for  to-day  all  the 
officers  serving  with  troops  were  ordered  to  be  on 
duty.  Only  the  staff  officers  were  able  to  be  present, 
but  so  small  a  number  of  women  and  girls  are  in 
town  compared  with  the  men  that  there  was  no 
dearth  of  partners  and  everyone  had  a  good  time. 
Our  guard  was  tripled  yesterday  and  the  men  in- 
sisted we  ought  to  take  a  gun  with  us  to  the  ball. 
So  with  much  reluctance  el  Senor  was  finally  in- 
duced to  put  his  unloaded  pistol  under  the  seat. 
Our  progress 'was  slow  for  at  every  few  blocks  we 
were  challenged,  the  carriage  stopped,  and  we  had 
to  get  out  and  have  our  pass  examined.  It  was  not 
exactly  agreeable  for  a  slight  rain  was  falling.  The 
ball  was  very  pretty  and  the  supper  delicious.  One 

70 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

of  the  officers  present  was  standing  near  me,  with 
a  plate  piled  with  good  things;  as  he  raised  his 
glass  of  champagne  in  my  direction  he  said :  "  It 
makes  me  blush  to  think  of  the  pathetic  letter  I 
posted  this  morning,  describing  the  hardships  of  the 
soldier's  life  in  the  tropics." 

We  have  a  clever  and  unscrupulous  coachman. 
Last  evening  when  we  went  downstairs  to  go 
home  we  found  the  carriages  in  an  inextricable 
confusion.  There  were  friends  waiting  who  had 
been  trying  to  find  their  carriages  for  half  an  hour. 
Somewhere  from  the  crowd  Lorenzo  spied  us;  and 
we  suddenly  heard  a  familiar  voice  calling  in  im- 
perious tones :  "  Make  way  for  the  carriage  of  the 
honorable  President  of  the  Civil  Commission." 
Like  magic  every  coachman  gave  way  and  before 
we  knew  it  Lorenzo  and  Luis  had  swooped  down 
and  gathered  us  in  and  we  were  speeding  off  down 
the  road  too  surprised  and  amused  to  make  any 
proper  impression  on  Lorenzo,  who  evidently  was 
well  pleased  with  the  success  of  his  trick.  He 
promised,  however,  never  to  do  it  again. 

MANILA,  August  15,  1900. 

MY  last  letter  I  mailed  during  a  typhoon,  so  it 
was  probably  delayed  several   days   and  this 
may  reach  you  at  the  same  time.     We  were  obliged 
to  sleep  on  the  floor  of  our  reception  room  during 
the  height  of  the  storm  as  the  rooms  facing  the 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

bay  were  uninhabitable.  Every  time  a  typhoon 
rages,  the  driveway  along  the  beach  is  washed  out 
and  the  waves  dash  over  a  half-finished  pier  in 
grand  style.  I  was  persuaded  to  walk  down  the 
Malacon  drive  the  other  day  after  the  height  of 
the  typhoon,  and  although  I  was  literally  "  soaked 
to  the  bones,"  as  the  Spaniards  express  it,  the  sight 
of  the  majestic  breakers  well  repaid  me  for  the  dis- 
comfort I  suffered. 

Our  visit  to  Apalit  endeared  us  to  our  Filipino 
friends  to  such  an  extent  that  on  our  departure  they 
not  only  loaded  us  with  flowers,  fruits,  and  sweets, 
but  embraced  us  over  and  over  again,  fairly  tearful 
with  emotion  in  a  very  un-American  manner. 

It  appears  that  the  half  brothers  of  the  young 
ladies  sail  on  the  Grant  this  week  for  America  where 
they  will  enter  a  university.  Their  father  is  one  of 
the  Filipinos  who  has  taken  the  oath  of  allegiance 
and  is  apparently  working  for  the  American  cause. 
He  is  not  popular,  however,  with  his  countrymen, 
who  do  not  consider  him  reliable.  I  have  begun  to 
find  out  that  the  Filipinos  do  not  hold  together,  and 
that  the  social  position  or  political  success  of  a  man 
inevitably  calls  forth  enemies  on  all  sides  who 
malign  his  character  and  suggest  he  is  a  turncoat. 
The  Americans,  too,  are  inclined  to  say  he  is  slip- 
pery. This  may  or  may  not  be  the  fact  in  the 
present  case,  but  turncoat  or  not  he  is  certainly  a 
clever  man,  and  if  he  has  changed  his  politics  for 

72 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

his  own  ends  he  is  only  doing  what  the  Government 
is  urging  all  the  Filipinos  to  do,  so  I  cannot  see  that 
anyone  has  the  right  to  call  him  names.  The  two 
youths,  sons  of  this  gentleman,  are  accompanied 
by  their  young  uncle,  whose  father  is  said  to  be  one 
of  the  richest  men  in  the  islands.  This  old  million- 
aire is  an  "  Indio  puro "  as  they  call  the  full- 
blooded  natives,  although  he  looks  as  if  he  had 
Chinese  blood  in  his  veins.  He  wears  his  white 
shirt  outside  his  trousers,  but  he  lives  in  one  of 
the  handsomest  houses  in  Manila,  and  his  sons  and 
grandsons  are  regarded  as  young  swells  in  their 
circle.  I  enter  into  these  details  because  you  will 
doubtless  see  notices  of  the  arrival  of  the  young 
men  in  the  papers  when  they  reach  San  Francisco. 

The  week  after  our  visit  to  Apalit,  last  Sunday 
evening,  our  friends  came  down  to  Manila  to  bid 
good-by  to  their  brothers  and  we  met  them  driving 
on  the  Luneta.  At  first  we  did  not  recognize  the 
gayly  dressed  mestizas,  in  a  stylish  turnout,  who 
seemed  to  be  waving  their  hands  to  us,  until  Elena 
exclaimed :  "  Why,  they  are  our  Apalit  friends,  and 
they  are  waving  to  us  to  stop !  "  As  they  overtook 
our  carriage  one  of  the  girls  jumped  out  and  ran 
over  to  greet  us,  then  all  Manila  beheld  the  amazing 
spectacle  of  an  American  woman  being  kissed  by 
a  Filipina  and  their  driving  together  around  the 
Luneta.  Perhaps  I  have  mentioned  in  one  of  my 
letters  that  one  of  the  vital  questions  in  the  Philip- 

73 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

pines  relates  to  the  social  relation  between  the  two 
races.  The  army,  except  in  a  few  cases,  has  tabooed 
the  native  socially.  A  friend,  the  wife  of  an  officer 
of  high  rank,  said  to  me  one  day  when  I  was  pre- 
paring to  make  some  calls  on  native  acquaintances : 
"  I  pity  you  Commission  people ;  thank  heaven  the 
army  has  no  social  duty  toward  these  natives." 
This  attitude  is  perhaps  natural,  for  a  conqueror 
seldom  feels  on  an  equality  with  a  race  with  whom 
he  has  recently  been  in  conflict.  So  one  seldom 
meets  natives  at  any  but  purely  official  army  func- 
tions. They  are  rarely  invited  by  officers  to  their 
private  entertainments.  The  Filipinos  are  sensitive 
on  this  point  and  say :  "  If  the  Americans  are  going 
to  look  on  us  2nd  treat  us  as  the  Spaniards  have 
done  for  three  hundred  years,  we  do  not  want  them 
here." 

MANILA,  August  18,  1900. 

THE  day  before  yesterday  our  Apalit  friends 
called  on  us,  but  I  was  out.  Elena  acted  as 
hostess  and  with  a  mixture  of  Spanish  and  Italian 
she  managed  to  amuse  and  entertain  them.  In 
Manila  if  one  wishes  to  be  very  polite  he  returns 
a  first  call  the  day  it  is  made,  but  on  no  account 
must  he  defer  his  visit  later  than  the  following  day. 
Therefore,  although  the  weather  was  stormy,  we 
started  yesterday  for  Tondo,  where  in  true  patri- 
archal fashion  live  the  root  and  branches  of  this 

74 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

family.  Tondo  is  a  quarter  as  near  like  Chinatown 
as  you  can  picture  it.  It  is  the  dirtiest  and  most 
crowded  part  of  Manila,  but  in  spite  of  that  fact 
some  of  the  richest  Filipino  families  reside  there. 
By  the  time  we  reached  our  destination  our  horses 
and  carriage  were  covered  with  mud,  as  we  had 
driven  through  water  up  to  the  hubs  part  of  the 
time. 

I  never  like  to  drive  in  the  crowded  part  of  the 
town;  the  narrow  streets  are  paved  with  uneven 
blocks  of  stone;  there  are  more  public  conveyances 
than  I  have  ever  seen  anywhere  else;  and  I  think 
the  carabao  are  dangerous ;  their  great  horns  nearly 
fill  the  narrow  streets  and  their  drivers  are  utterly 
reckless.  Private  coachmen  are  no  better.  They 
make  it  a  point  of  honor  never  to  allow  any  other 
conveyance  to  pass  them,  so  between  the  yelling  of 
drivers,  the  lashing  of  the  horses,  and  the  horns  of 
the  carabaos  I  am  developing  "  nerves."  We  at  last 
reached  the  street  and  number  given  us  by  the 
young  ladies,  but  I  hesitated  as  it  seemed  impossible 
a  family  of  consideration  could  live  in  such  a  place. 
All  around  were  small  dirty  Chinese  shops,  and  the 
narrow  sidewalk  was  filthy.  We  had  stopped  be- 
fore a  huge  building  like  a  warehouse.  At  the 
entrance  was  an  immense  door  with  a  smaller  one 
inclosed  in  one  of  its  panels.  The  correct  number 
above  it  was  the  only  thing  that  suggested  that 
it  was  the  right  place.  After  knocking  several 
6  75 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

times  three  half-clad  men  appeared  and  answered 
"  yes  "  to  our  question  if  Serlor  Carmona  resided 
there. 

The  lower  floor  which  we  entered  was  an  im- 
mense court  paved  with  square  stones,  where  there 
were  at  least  ten  carriages  of  different  styles  and 
sizes.  How  many  horses  were  in  the  stalls  I  could 
not  tell,  but  I  heard  their  stamping  and  snorting. 
In  the  center  was  a  fountain,  but  wet  clothes  pasted 
on  boards  suggested  that  it  was  used  as  a  washtub. 
Ten  or  twelve  servants  were  engaged  in  various  oc- 
cupations, working  over  the  horses,  cleaning  car- 
riages, washing  dishes,  and  all  peering  at  us  with 
interest.  Presently  a  small  girl  rang  a  great  bell, 
pointed  up  the  stairway,  and  we  ascended  the  wide 
marble  steps  unattended,  in  true  Manila  style.  On 
reaching  the  top  of  the  stairs  we  came  to  a  large 
square  hall  where  vistas  of  apartments  opened  on  all 
sides.  The  proportions  of  the  room  were  fine  and 
the  beautiful  rosewood  floors  shone  like  mirrors. 
Servants  were  sauntering  about  but  no  one  came 
forward.  We  waited  until  our  charming  little  hos- 
tess came  running  in  to  greet  us  and  she  led  us  to 
the  drawing-room.  Filipino  homes  are  furnished 
more  simply  than  our  own.  There  are  no  carpets 
or  rugs,  and  who  would  wish  them  in  exchange  for 
a  highly  polished  rosewood  or  mahogany  floor? 
Even  in  the  houses  of  the  wealthy  the  furniture  is 
principally  of  the  Vienna  bent-wood  variety.  Chairs 

76 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

almost  fill  the  rooms.  There  is  usually  a  hollow 
square  in  the  center  formed  by  a  table  at  one  side, 
with  sofa  opposite  connected  by  rows  of  chairs.  Pic- 
tures are  infrequent,  but  magnificent  mirrors  in 
elaborate  gilt  frames  abound.  A  piano  of  excruci- 
ating tone  is  never  absent.  Cuspidors  of  pink, 
white,  blue  or  green  glass  are  symmetrically  placed 
at  the  four  corners  of  the  hollow  square.  Usually 
two  or  more  natives  in  very  dirty  short  bathing 
trunks  are  on  hands  and  feet  with  rolls  of  burlap 
polishing  the  floors.  They  rush  from  one  end  of 
the  room  to  the  other  with  astonishing  rapidity. 
The  Filipinos  call  it  "  skating  the  floor." 

All  of  these  conditions  were  present  in  the  draw- 
ing-room of  the  house  we  entered.  Instead  of  the 
usual  bent-wood  furniture,  however,  there  were 
beautifully  carved  sofas  and  chairs,  covered  with 
ugly  but  heavy  and  costly  velvet  brocade.  The  table 
was  inlaid  tortoise  shell  and  brass  of  exquisite  work- 
manship. The  piano  was  a  grand  Erard  imported 
from  Paris,  but  a  total  wreck  musically.  There 
were  several  glass  and  gilt  cabinets  filled  with  bric- 
a-brac  of  the  most  varying  kinds  from  beautiful 
and  really  artistic  and  valuable  specimens  of  Sevres, 
porcelain,  and  bronze  to  miserable  blue,  white,  and 
pink  glass  toys  and  china  dogs  of  the  cheapest  and 
most  vulgar  sort.  The'  walls  were  hung  with  a 
heavy,  dark  paper  detached  in  many  places  by 
reason  of  the  dampness.  Two  royal  mirrors  adorned 

77 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

the  walls.  On  the  beautiful  table  was  a  cheap  china 
bowl  and  two  china  vases  filled  with  soiled  artificial 
flowers.  But  what  most  attracted  my  astonished 
gaze  were  four  painted  tin  cats  standing  around  the 
table. 

Our  hostess  sat  beside  me  in  a  white  dressing 
sack,  at  the  other  side  sat  Senor  Garcia,  and  beyond 
and  opposite  was  a  row  of  persons  of  all  hues 
from  almost  black  to  very  light  brown;  from  the 
old  man  who  I  said  wore  his  shirt  outside  his 
trousers,  to  Senor  Lamberto,  one  of  the  handsomest 
men  I  have  met  in  Manila.  He  was  in  Aguinaldo's 
cabinet  and  very  prominent  politically.  He  is  pale 
and  looks  like  a  Spaniard,  but  is  a  mestizo.  We 
talked  a  few  moments  and  then  Elena  was  invited 
to  play,  which  she  did  to  the  great  delight  of  the 
company  and  to  our  agony.  I  afterwards  spoke  of 
the  difficulty  in  this  climate  of  keeping  a  piano  in 
tune  on  account  of  the  rusting  of  the  strings,  but 
this  did  not  appeal  to  them.  One  of  the  ladies  ex- 
pressed surprise  and  said  :  "  Do  you  think  so  ?  Why, 
our  piano  belonged  to  my  grandmother  and  it  is 
still  very  good."  I  had  never  heard  a  worse  one. 
But  it  is  thought  that  as  long  as  the  instrument  holds 
together  it  is  good.  Afterwards  one  of  the  girls 
played  and  then  Elena  was  urged  to  play  again.  It 
was  evidently  the  desire  of  our  hosts  to  entertain 
us.  I  was  curious  about  the  four  painted  tin  cats. 
The  mystery  was  soon  solved  and  I  learned  that 

78 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

they  were  not  merely  ornamental,  for  Dona  Lucia 
was  seized  with  a  fit  of  coughing  and  to  my  aston- 
ishment she  grasped  one  of  the  animals  by  the  head 
and  turning  it  around  expectorated  with  great  vigor 
into  a  cuspidor  which  was  mysteriously  constructed 
in  or  about  its  back. 

MANILA,  August  21,  1900. 

SINCE  my  last  writing  we  have  been  to  a  dinner 
given  at  a  Filipino  house  in  honor  of  the  two 
departing  youths  of  whom  I  wrote.  One  of  them 
speaks  a  little  English.  He  took  Elena  in  to  dinner. 
At  parting  he  said  to  her :  "  I  wish  the  Grant  to 
take  you,  too,  with  us,  for  your  good  health  and 
merry  character  are  greatly  pleasing  to  me."  These 
dinners  are  much  more  entertaining  than  American 
dinner  parties.  The  table  etiquette  is  somewhat  dif- 
ficult at  first,  but  I  am  learning  in  Filipino  style  to 
pick  off  an  olive  or  pickle  at  the  end  of  a  fork 
presented  me  by  my  neighbor  at  the  table,  and  to 
say  the  proper  thing  in  response  to  a  toast  to  my 
"  beauty  and  intellect." 

We  have  a  good  cook  and  we  enjoy  having  all 
the  company  we  wish  as  it  is  unaccompanied  by 
trouble  or  anxiety.  I  am  constantly  saying  to  my- 
self, unberufen,  for  to  have  six  really  first-class  ser- 
vants is  so  remarkable  here  that  it  seems  impossible 
that  it  should  last  very  long.  Our  second  boy  was 
a  trial  when  we  first  came,  but  I  soon  learned  that 

79 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

the  only  wisdom  is  to  keep  changing  until  the  right 
one  is  secured,  and  now  I  have  a  jewel. 

I  send  one  last  message  before  the  mail  closes. 
We  are  all  well.  Last  night  we  had  a  dinner  party. 
It  was  unusually  pleasant,  although  el  Sefior  was 
called  away  at  the  last  moment  to  go  to  a  meeting 
to  discuss  a  telegram  from  President  McKinley. 
Our  little  company  was  congenial  and  lively  and 
we  had  a  most  recherche  little  dinner.  Our  most 
expensive  and  elegant  course  was  a  leg  of  mutton 
which  weighed  only  six  pounds  and  cost  two  dollars 
and  forty  cents.  We  have  had  no  meat  since  the 
typhoon  started.  We  pay  from  four  to  six  cents  a 
pound  when  we  get  meat  from  the  quartermaster, 
but  the  mutton  I  bought  in  town  and  paid  forty 
cents  a  pound  for  it. 

MANILA,  August  29,  1900. 

SINCE  writing  you  last  the  typhoon  has  gone 
to  Japan,  still  the  Grant  did  not  sail  on  the  25th, 
but  waited  until  the  next  day.  Our  next-door 
neighbor,  the  paymaster's  wife,  and  her  children 
have  gone  home.  The  little  boy  was  a  mass  of 
prickly  heat  and  kept  a  servant  fanning  him  all  the 
time.  We  regret  her  departure  for  she  is  a  charm- 
ing woman,  and  we  dislike  to  have  the  nice  people  go. 
I  should  think  army  life  would  be  trying  to  those 
who  find  pleasure  in  friendship.  Just  as  soon  as 
one  becomes  acquainted  with  a  congenial  man  or 

80 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

woman  off  he  goes  to  another  quarter  of  the  globe. 
Elena  said  she  wrote  to  you  we  were  going  to  give 
a  Filipina  lunch  party.  It  was  successful  although 
two  of  the  guests  did  not  come.  The  natives  have 
not  our  ideas  in  the  matter  of  entertaining.  They 
always  are  prepared  for  more  persons  than  they 
invite,  and  three  or  four  guests  more  or  less  is  quite 
in  the  usual  order  of  things,  and  so  although  the 
girls  knew  two  days  previously  that  two  of  them 
could  not  come  they  did  not  send  me  word.  I  was 
sorry  because  I  wanted  to  ask  several  other  persons 
and  could  not  because  there  was  not  room,  as  our 
table  seats  only  fourteen.  The  Filipinos  and  Ameri- 
cans made  a  very  jolly  party.  The  natives  are 
always  gay  and  easy  to  please  and  laugh  a  great 
deal.  I  invited  the  wife  of  the  captain  of  the  mili- 
tary prison,  a  charming  woman,  sympathetic  and 
fond  of  the  Filipinos.  She  is  pretty,  too. 

I  used  for  the  table  the  blue  centerpiece  and  doilies 
embroidered  in  white  dragons  that  I  bought  in 
Hongkong,  and  the  arrangement  was  new  and  in- 
teresting to  the  Filipinos.  Bouillon  served  in  bowls 
was  also  a  novelty,  and  they  admired  our  little 
entree  forks.  The  jelly  was  wine,  chocolate,  and 
blanc  mange  in  layers,  and  their  admiration  was 
great  for  they  appreciated  all  the  sweet  things,  but 
most  of  all  they  enjoyed  the  apricot  water  ice  and 
frosted  cake.  When  the  coffee  was  served  in  the 
drawing-room  the  coffee  spoons  were  examined  with 

81 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

enthusiasm,  and  one  of  the  girls  announced  that 
she  would  write  to  her  brother  to  send  her  some 
from  America.  Coffee  is  served  with  teaspoons  in 
Filipino  houses.  After  lunch  I  showed  them  fash- 
ion books  and  took  their  photographs  and  at  three 
o'clock  they  departed,  leaving  us  quite  tired  out 
with  the  excitement  and  the  necessity  of  making 
so  many  complimentary  remarks  in  a  foreign  lan- 
guage. 

On  Tuesday  morning  we  went  to  an  interesting 
celebration  at  the  Augustinian  church.  The  anni- 
versary of  the  saint  was  the  occasion  of  the  high 
mass.  We  were  delighted  with  the  service  and  saw 
a  great  deal  that  was  really  beautiful.  The  church 
itself  was  handsomely  decorated,  with  many  candles 
in  crystal  candelabra  and  large  lusters  hanging  from 
the  ceiling.  There  was  a  great  deal  of  silver  on 
the  high  altar.  The  apse  was  draped  with  a  white 
cloth  canopy  studded  with  black  to  imitate  ermine. 
The  edges  were  trimmed  with  red  and  gold  em- 
broidery. It  looked  quite  magnificent.  The  arch- 
bishop officiated.  Elena  has  told  you  about  this 
gentleman,  I  think.  He  is  as  unspiritual  looking  a 
priest  as  one  can  imagine.  His  vestments  were 
magnificent  and  it  was  quite  a  sight  to  see  him 
dressed  at  a  side  altar  by  the  lower  clergy.  That 
was  part  of  the  function.  They  say  the  old  gentle- 
man suffers  a  great  deal  from  the  heat  on  these 
occasions.  I  should  think  he  would,  he  is  so  fat. 

82 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

The  bowing  and  hand  kissing  and  continual  rever- 
ences are  tiresome  to  a  heretic.  Since  I  am  not 
sufficiently  accustomed  to  high  mass  to  know  always 
how  to  behave  I  find  that  the  best  way  is  to  watch 
the  Spanish  officials  who  sit  in  great  gilt  chairs  in 
front  of  the  altar.  When  these  gentlemen  sit  still, 
so  do  I;  when  they  stand  up  I  follow  suit;  when 
they  kneel  I  do,  too.  Thus  I  avoid  attracting  at- 
tention. The  music  was  good  in  places  on  this  oc- 
casion; one  baritone  had  a  lovely  voice.  After  the 
long  service  we  were  invited  into  the  reception  room 
of  the  monastery,  where  sweets,  wine,  and  beer  were 
served.  We  met  a  number  of  frailes  and  were 
greeted  with  marked  attention.  As  the  Commission 
is  now  discussing  the  question  of  church  property, 
the  friars  are  pleasant,  especially  to  us.  We  met 
a  number  of  Spanish  and  Filipina  ladies  whom  we 
had  never  seen  before.  The  niece  of  the  archbishop 
was  there.  She  told  us  the  nicest  people  in  Manila 
are  not  seen  among  the-political  set.  Those  present 
were  certainly  whiter  than  many  of  those  we  know 
and  all  were  very  devout. 

MANILA,  September  i,  1900. 

TO-DAY  the  Civil  Commission  assumes  the  leg- 
islative power  in  the  Islands,  with  certain  ex- 
ecutive functions,  including  the  power  to  appoint 
to  office  in  specific  departments.    They  will,  in  my 
opinion,  have  their  hands  full. 

83 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

MANILA,  September  10,  1900. 

MY  last  letter  was  written  when  a  typhoon  was 
at  its  height,  and  I  am  again  sitting  in  the  din- 
ing room  listening  to  the  roar  of  the  waters  which 
are  beating  against  our  sea  wall  below  the  windows. 
Thursday  the  biggest  storm  in  years  began  and 
increased  until  Saturday  night  when  there  was  no 
rest  for  anyone  in  the  house.  You  never  heard  such 
a  racket.  All  the  tin  roofs  in  the  neighborhood 
were  banging  and  rattling.  Our  neighbors  opposite 
tied  down  their  roofs  to  stakes  in  the  ground,  while 
there  was  an  air  of  unrest  and  anxiety  manifest  in 
the  cautious  way  the  people  peered  around  corners 
and  scurried  across  streets  to  get  out  of  the  way  of 
falling  roofs.  El  Senor  and  Danny  came  home  in 
a  calesa  and  were  nearly  blown  away.  On  Sunday 
we  drove  out  to  view  the  ruins  and  I  tried  to  get 
a  picture  or  two  of  the  wreckage  on  our  street.  A 
schooner  was  washed  up  on  the  shore  just  below  our 
house,  and  we  were  thankful  that  it  did  not  come 
pounding  against  the  breakwater.  We  went  down- 
town in  a  quilez,  which  is  a  high  two-seated  vehicle, 
and  the  horse  waded  through  water  up  to  his  shoul- 
ders. In  front  of  the  Ayuntamiento  the  largest  trees 
were  blown  down,  and  on  Saturday  night  there 
were  no  electric  lights  in  town.  Last  evening  we 
went  out  driving  again  and  were  astonished  at  the 
floods  all  over  town.  For  an  hour  or  two  we  drove 
through  water  up  to  the  hubs  of  the  carriage  wheels, 

84 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

and  saw  many  strange  and  picturesque  sights. 
Whole  sections  of  the  city  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach  were  under  water.  Natives  were  walking  in 
it  up  to  their  waists,  and  buying  and  selling  notions 
and  food  out  of  their  windows.  We  now  under- 
stand why  the  nipa  houses  are  built  upon  stilts. 
Some  persons  more  enterprising  than  others  were 
paddling  about  the  streets  in  bancas,  as  they  call 
their  small  boats  or  "  dugouts."  The  river  banks 
had  overflowed  the  lowlands,  and  water  was  run- 
ning through  the  palace  yard  at  least  two  feet  deep. 
We  finally  could  go  no  farther,  the  water  was  so 
deep,  and  we  turned  toward  home.  Before  we  could 
reach  our  house  a  great  cylindrical  storm  cloud 
came  whirling  directly  toward  us.  In  a  moment, 
scarcely  giving  us  time  to  pull  up  the  top  of  our 
carriage,  the  wind  rushed  upon  us  and  the  rain 
came  down  in  sheets.  We  had  difficulty  in  getting 
home.  The  flood  subsided  as  quickly  as  it  had 
risen,  and  next  day  I  drove  over  in  that  vicinity  and 
found  the  dust  blowing  where  the  water  had  been 
the  day  before. 

MANILA,  September  14,  1900. 

THE  doctor's  wife  has  been  visiting  us  and  we 
have  been  having  a  very  gay  time.     We  have 
had  company  every  day,  and  on  Wednesday  we  gave 
a  big  dinner.     It  was  very  good,  indeed,  and  con- 
sidering that  we  spoke  three  languages  at  table, 

85 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

it  went  off  extremely  well.  We  had  invited  among 
others,  a  prominent  Filipino  who  has  lived  twenty 
years  in  Paris.  He  speaks  French  well  and  is  a 
cultivated  gentleman.  His  wife  speaks  very  good 
Spanish,  which  is  not  always  the  case  among  the 
mestizas.  Another  guest  was  minister  of  foreign 
affairs  under  Aguinaldo  and  now  seems  turning  or 
turned  to  our  side.  There  was  much  interesting  talk 
and  everyone  seemed  to  have  a  good  time.  Last 
night  we  went  to  a  dinner  and  a  ball.  The  dinner 
was  given  to  the  Commission.  It  was  given  in 
the  house  I  described  in  a  previous  letter.  The  din- 
ing table  seated  thirty-one  persons,  and  consisted 
of  three  great  marble-topped  tables  put  end  to  end. 
The  family  ordinarily  eats  from  the  cold  white  top 
without  a  table  cloth,  but  last  night  there  were  table 
cloths  and  napkins  and  immense  baskets  of  flowers 
and  different  kinds  of  fruits  and  jellies.  They  had 
an  orchestra  of  a  dozen  pieces  which  brayed  dis- 
cords all  during  dinner.  The  toasts  were  many  and 
amusing.  Judge  Taft  prefaced  a  very  witty  toast 
by  saying  that  he  would  not  speak  in  Spanish,  be- 
cause there  were  so  many  present  who  could  not 
understand  him. 

Our  host  then  delivered  a  glowing  oration  in 
which  he  said  he  was  in  such  a  delirium  of  joy  that 
he  could  not  believe  it  to  be  anything  but  a  dream. 
He  was  very  eloquent,  and  the  Spanish  language 
lends  itself  to  flowery  metaphors.  After  the  dinner, 

86 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

which  was  a  long  one,  with  many  kinds  of  wine  and 
warm  champagne,  we  adjourned  to  the  drawing- 
room  and  hall  for  dancing.  The  ladies  were  ele- 
gantly dressed.  The  hostess  of  the  occasion  was 
dazzling  in  immense  pearls  set  with  diamonds.  She 
had  on  a  red  brocaded  dress  with  the  funny  little 
beaver-tail  trains  the  Filipinas  wear.  The  camisa 
and  panuela  were  of  fine  pina  cloth  embroidered  in 
white  silk.  The  scene  in  the  dancing  hall  was  gay 
indeed,  for  the  ladies'  dresses  were  all  of  the  most 
brilliant  colors.  Pea-green,  sky-blue,  and  pink  pre- 
dominated. Many  of  the  men  did  look  a  little  black, 
I  must  say,  but  I  do  not  mind  that,  they  are  so  polite 
and  happy.  We  stayed  until  twelve  o'clock,  and 
then  we  went  to  a  ball  at  the  Spanish  Casino.  There 
we  saw  a  repetition  of  the  same  scene,  but  of  course 
being  in  a  casino  it  was  not  as  elegant  as  the  private 
party.  We  finally  reached  home  about  three  o'clock, 
but  not  so  late  as  if  we  had  stayed  through  the 
first  party,  where  dancing  was  kept  up  until  five 
this  morning. 

At  these  native  balls  the  girls  sit  demurely  about 
the  room  in  chairs  placed  against  the  wall.  The 
men  congregate  in  the  halls  or  on  the  stairways  and 
stare  at  them.  There  is  naturally  a  certain  shyness 
on  the  part  of  the  Filipino  men  about  asking  the 
American  women  to  dance.  The  ball  is  always 
opened  with  the  rigodone,  the  stately  dance  of  the 
country.  Judge  Taft  dances  this  with  the  hostess 

87 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

and  the  host  leads  out  with  Mrs.  Taft,  while  the 
rest  of  us  form  in  line  and  go  through  the  rather 
intricate  figures  with  as  much  grace  as  may  be. 
Since  the  arrival  of  the  Americans  the  mestiza  girls 
of  society  have  been  taught  the  waltz  as  danced  in 
America  and  have  learned  to  reverse,  but  the  Fili- 
pino men  waltz  as  the  Germans  do.  Experience  in 
that  style  of  exercise  in  Europe  has  taught  me  to 
avoid  it  in  the  tropics.  It  is  only  suited  to  the 
frozen  north.  The  two-step,  which  anyone  can 
learn,  is  the  favorite  with  the  mestizos  and  mestizas. 
As  yet  the  American  waltz  is  a  little  difficult. 

At  all  native  balls  the  supper  is  a  great  feature 
of  the  affair,  fowls,  meat  and  other  substantial 
viands  forming  part  of  the  menu,  with  dulces 
(sweets)  and  ices,  which  are  insipid  to  our  taste, 
and  champagne.  The  fact  that  champagne  and  dia- 
monds bore  very  low  duties  during  the  period  of 
Spanish  rule  may  account  for  their  abundance  in 
the  Philippines. 

MANILA,  September  28,  1900. 

ATOWADAYS  there  is  nothing  new  and  inter- 
-L  *  esting  going  on  which  makes  letter-writing 
easy.  Politically  things  are  blue.  The  insurgents 
are  everywhere  helping  William  J.  Bryan  all  they 
can  by  attacking  the  Americans  even  at  a  frightful 
loss  to  themselves.  Last  week  there  were  two  en- 
counters, one  fight  in  which  twenty-four  of  our  men 

88 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

were  wounded  or  killed,  and  another  in  which  six 
or  eight  were  killed.  In  Zamboanga  the  insurgents 
have  asked  for  a  suspension  of  arms  till  after  the 
election.  They  promise  to  lay  down  their  arms  if 
Mr.  McKinley  is  elected,  but  if  he  is  defeated  they 
say  they  will  fight  till  the  last  American  soldier  has 
left  the  Islands. 

We  had  a  dancing  party  this  week.  Our  guests 
were  Filipina  girls  and  a  few  young  men  who  came 
to  teach  us  the  rigodone,  a  Spanish  dance  that  is  in 
great  vogue  here  among  the  Filipinos.  The  two 
girls  are  daughters  of  a  Filipino  who  is  an  Amer- 
ican sympathizer  and  a  well-known  enemy  of  the 
friars.  Once  the  insurgents  tried  to  bury  him  alive 
and  he  has  been  threatened  several  times  with  as- 
sassination; but  he  does  not  seem  alarmed  and  has 
lately  written  a  play,  which  was  performed  last  week 
in  a  theater  in  town.  It  was  a  violent  attack  on  the 
friars.  He  has  ten  children,  among  them  two  very 
pretty  girls.  One  of  them  is  engaged  to  an  Amer- 
ican. She  is  accomplished,  sings  well,  and  seems 
delighted  with  her  American  lover. 

I  told  you,  I  think,  about  the  club  for  the  purpose 
of  bringing  Americans  and  natives  together  socially. 
I  don't  know  how  it  will  work.  If  the  Filipinos 
hear  of  the  views  of  the  founders  they  may  not  like 
to  be  brought  into  an  organization  so  frankly  for 
their  "  elevation."  No  woman  can  join  who  will 
not  promise  to  dance  with  a  Filipino,  and  no  man 

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UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

who  is  not  willing  to  give  up  his  own  preferences 
and  pay  attention  to  Filipina  girls  instead  of  Amer- 
icans. So  you  see  we  may  have  trouble.  The  Fili- 
pinos may  be  like  some  of  the  persons  approached 
by  the  social  settlements  in  America,  "  hard  to  do 
good  to." 

We  have  become  acquainted  with  a  charming 
young  Spanish  officer,  who  is  in  Manila  settling  up 
Spanish  claims.  Last  week  we  invited  him  to  dine 
with  us.  Before  dinner  an  orderly  appeared  with 
two  immense  bouquets  and  a  letter  in  Spanish  beg- 
ging el  Senor  to  allow  his  wife  and  sister-in-law  to 
accept  the  flowers  as  a  proof  of  the  appreciation  of 
the  honor  they  were  showing  him.  His  character 
combines  the  gay  and  the  serious,  and  we  like  him 
and  are  sorry  he  is  going  away  very  soon. 

I  wish  we  might  know  more  of  the  different  so- 
cial circles  here.  Manila  seems  to  be  a  society  made 
up  of  many  cliques  separated  one  from  the  other  by 
scorn  and  hate.  Of  course  we  are  in  with  the  pro- 
American  set,  which  shuts  us  out  from  any  but  one 
kind.  Now  and  then  we  come  across  an  individual 
who  is  outside  our  set  and  who  knows  all  about 
the  others.  I  met  a  gentleman  a  few  evenings  ago 
who  claimed  to  know  Manila  society  root  and 
branch,  and  he  shocked  me  by  saying  that  certain 
persons  I  have  supposed  were  the  cream  of  society 
here  were  absolutely  tabooed  by  the  really  aristo- 
cratic families  of  Manila.  He  also  said  it  was  a 

90 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

great  pity  I  did  not  know  the  really  first-class  fam- 
ilies here,  but  that  they  were  all  very  exclusive  and 
bitter  against  the  Americans,  being  pro-Spanish  in 
their  sympathies,  and  it  would  be  "  difficult."  How- 
ever, he  hinted  his  good  offices  might  be  employed 
in  behalf  of  so  "  sympathetic  "  a  senora  as  I,  and  he 
was  sure  I  would  find  myself  much  at  home  in 
the  charmed  circle  of  Manila's  upper  ten.  A  few 
evenings  later  I  inquired  about  this  person  and  his 
standing  from  one  of  our  circle  of  intimates,  who 
answered  my  question  with  the  statement  that  my 
informant  was  far  from  being  all  he  should  be,  and 
entertained  me  with  many  remarkable  tales  of  his 
character.  Each  social  set  makes  claims  bewilder- 
ing to  the  newcomer. 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 


THE    SOUTHERN    TRIP 

TRANSPORT  "  SUMNER,"  ILOILO,  March  22,  1901. 
HPHE  trip  to  Iloilo  on  a  Spanish  steamer  to  over- 
*-  take  the  transport  Sumner,  on  which  the  Com- 
mission is  visiting  the  southern  provinces,  was 
agreeable.  The  table  was  good,  in  Spanish  style; 
the  rooms  were  dirty  but  not  uncomfortable.  The 
scenery  was  picturesque,  as  we  sailed  in  sight  of 
land  almost  all  the  time.  We  reached  Iloilo  about 
three  o'clock  on  Monday  morning.  At  seven  o'clock 
the  big  quarantine  launch  came  alongside  and  took 
us  over  to  the  Sumner.  El  Senor  was  waiting  for 
us.  I  was  much  relieved  the  moment  I  saw  him. 
He  is  looking  better  than  he  did  before  I  went  home. 
Judge  Taft  does  not  look  quite  so  well  as  when  I 
left,  but  he  has  not  grown  thin.  All  the  rest  of  the 
party  are  well  except  one  of  the  young  ladies,  who 
broke  her  arm  in  three  places,  falling  from  a  horse. 
There  are  about  fifty  persons  on  the  Sumner.  The 
Commission,  the  ladies,  the  secretaries,  certain  mem- 
bers of  the  Federal  Party,  a  number  of  reporters, 
and  the  quartermaster.  The  staterooms  are  small, 

92 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

but  the  dining  room  is  large.  The  Commission  is 
feeling  much  gratified  over  the  success  of  its  work 
in  the  Islands.  What  is  more,  the  administration 
in  Washington  appears  to  be  satisfied,  and  at 
present  it  looks  as  if  we  would  remain  in  the 
Philippines  some  months  longer,  as  the  Commission 
will  probably  become  the  legislative  body  when  civil 
government  is  established.  The  party  has  been  two 
weeks  on  its  travels.  They  have  been  having  a  busy 
time.  In  addition  to  hard  work  they  are  expected 
to  attend  balls,  banquets,  and  receptions  of  all  kinds 
everywhere. 

March  24,  1901. 

WE  left  Iloilo  yesterday  at  half  past  two.  The 
weather  is  cool  and  cloudy.  To-day  we  have 
been  steaming  along  very  slowly,  for  the  channels 
here  are  not  marked  and  the  captain  is  careful.  Just 
now  we  are  in  sight  of  lovely  islands  and  the  sky 
is  full  of  snowy  clouds.  The  sunsets  are  wonderful 
and  altogether  it  is  delightful  after  the  monotony 
of  the  Pacific.  Auria  has  begun  her  daily  lessons, 
and  Fraulein  will,  I  think,  do  well  with  her.  To- 
morrow we  reach  Jolo. 

OFF  JOLO,  March  27,  1901. 

THIS  morning  on  looking  out  of  our  stateroom 
window  we  found  ourselves  off  the  town  of 
Jolo,  which  lies  close  to  the  shore,  surrounded  by 
cocoanut  palms  and  tropical  trees  of  all  kinds,  prin- 

93 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

cipally  fruit  trees  of  new  and  interesting  varieties. 
The  mountains  behind  the  town  rise  in  a  series  of 
isolated  peaks  wooded  to  the  tops.  The  sea  is  like 
a  mirror  and  the  sky  cloudless.  By  breakfast  time 
dozens  of  little  boats  came  alongside  the  Sumner 
with  fruit,  hats,  shells,  and  curios  for  sale.  At  half 
past  nine  the  officers  of  the  garrison  came  aboard. 
Following  them  was  a  long  double  row  of  native 
boats,  gayly  decorated.  There  were  seventy-five 
barges  and  boats,  and  they  circled  around  the 
transport  beating  tom-toms  and  playing  on  other 
barbaric  musical  instruments,  making  the  weirdest 
sounds  imaginable.  From  every  boat  a  continuous 
fusillade  of  fire  crackers  added  to  the  din.  Besides 
the  small  boats,  decorated  with  American  and  Moro 
flags,  there  were  three  or  four  large  barges  con- 
taining the  more  important  Moros.  These  were 
covered  with  colored  canopies  or  great  parasols  to 
protect  the  officials  from  the  hot  sun.  In  the  prow 
of  each  boat  there  were  half  naked  men,  wearing 
gay  colored  turbans  and  brilliant  loin  cloths,  danc- 
ing a  weird  Malay  dance  accompanied  by  singing 
and  handclapping.  The  skin  of  the  rowers  shone 
like  bronze  as  they  bent  their  backs  to  the  oars.  It 
was  like  a  scene  in  an  opera.  The  flotilla  sailed 
around  the  transport  several  times,  and  thus  gave 
us  a  full  view  of  it  from  all  points.  Then  it  divided 
making  a  double  guard  of  honor;  and  the  Sultan 
was  seen  coming  from  the  shore  in  a  launch. 

94 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

It  was  only  with  great  difficulty  and  after  much 
diplomacy  that  the  Sultan  was  persuaded  to  come 
aboard  the  transport.  He  was  afraid  it  would  com- 
promise his  dignity,  but  after  he  was  convinced  that 
he  must  come,  he  donned  a  gold  embroidered  suit, 
and  allowed  himself  to  be  escorted  to  the  ship.  A 
salute  was  fired,  the  marines  were  drawn  up  on 
deck ;  and  the  Commissioners  received  him  with  due 
solemnity.  Following  the  Sultan  was  a  motley  crew 
of  half-naked  Moros,  who  acted  as  his  suite.  They 
wore  gay  turbans  and  sashes,  with  barongs,  or 
large  knives,  sticking  in  their  belts.  Several  wore 
tight  trousers  of  silk,  but  others  wore  simple  cos- 
tumes of  bath  towels.  After  the  speeches  of  wel- 
come the  Sultan  was  introduced  to  us,  and  he  told 
us  he  would  like  to  present  us  to  his  wives  if  we 
had  the  time.  He  has  about  fifty.  You  can  im- 
agine how  the  children  enjoyed  this  gay  scene.  They 
flew  about  from  one  side  of  the  ship  to  the  other, 
standing  on  deck  stools  to  look  at  the  guests.  They 
were  presented  to  the  Sultan,  but  I  noticed  they 
shook  hands  very  gingerly  with  him.  After  lunch- 
eon we  all  went  ashore  to  a  native  entertainment  in 
honor  of  the  American  authorities,  and  the  after- 
noon was  taken  up  watching  the  strange  dances  for 
which  these  folk  have  a  great  reputation.  A  dance 
representing  the  catching  of  a  swarm  of  bees  was 
most  realistic.  An  old  man  performed  it,  and  it 
was  evidently  well  done,  for  the  assembled  natives 

95 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

watched  it  with  the  greatest  interest.  The  play  of 
expression  on  the  faces  of  the  crowd  was  remark- 
able. The  bright  colors  of  their  turbans  and 
trousers,  with  that  of  the  women's  sarongs,  pro- 
duced a  gay  effect  against  the  green  trees  and  a  bril- 
liant white  wall  as  a  background.  Jolo  is  a  small 
walled  city ;  about  eighty  per  cent  of  the  inhabitants 
are  Chinese.  They  had  erected  a  triumphal  arch 
in  honor  of  the  Commission.  It  was  very  ingeni- 
ously made  of  paper  painted  with  dragons  and 
brilliant  flowers.  There  is  a  little  lighthouse  at  the 
end  of  a  pier  built  by  the  Spaniards.  The  principal 
street  of  the  village  leads  to  this  pier.  Everything 
seems  to  be  freshly  painted  and  clean.  The  short 
principal  avenue  is  lined  with  trees,  and  there  are 
two  or  three  little  public  gardens,  surrounded  by 
low,  white-washed  plaster  walls.  In  fact  Jolo  is 
a  gem  of  a  place.  This  evening  everyone  has  gone 
to  a  dance  in  town. 

OFF  BASILAN,  March  28. 

'XT'ESTERDAY  morning  we  went  over  again  to 
J-  Jolo  to  buy  curios.  There  is  not  much  of  value 
except  knives  and  spears,  but  we  found  some  coral, 
two  brass  trays,  and  a  queer  brass  betel-nut  box. 
Danny  bought  a  spear  and  a  big  knife  for  me.  Later 
we  went  over  to  a  neat  Filipino  village.  It  was 
under  cocoanut  trees  and  open  to  every  breeze.  The 
streets  were  paved  with  white  coral,  which  gave  the 

96 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

place  an  especially  clean  appearance.  In  the  after- 
noon there  was  a  review  of  the  troops,  and  in  the 
evening  we  gave  a  dinner  on  board  ship  to  all  the 
officers  and  the  six  ladies  who  live  here  with  their 
husbands.  It  was  a  very  jolly  affair.  At  twelve 
o'clock  midnight  we  left  Jolo,  and  this  morning  we 
landed  at  Basilan,  a  small  town  on  an  island  of  the 
same  name.  There  is  a  company  of  marines  here 
and  five  young  officers  of  that  corps.  The  town 
has  one  small  street  and  an  avenue  of  trees  leading 
to  the  fort  on  a  hill.  These  trees  are  like  mature 
oaks,  but  when  in  bloom  are  covered  with  a  brilliant 
scarlet  flower  and  no  leaves.  They  make  a  magnifi- 
cent appearance.  There  is  a  great  variety  of  woods 
on  the  Island  of  Basilan.  We  bought  fourteen 
specimens  of  those  that  take  a  high  polish.  The 
public  school  is  taught  by  the  officers,  and  we  were 
much  amused  at  the  description  one  of  these  young 
men  gave  us  of  his  struggle  in  teaching  small  Fili- 
pinos American  history  without  a  text-book,  de- 
pending upon  his  memory  for  the  facts.  This  place 
comes  up  to  my  idea  of  a  tropical  country  and 
the  real  jungle.  Many  native  huts  are  grouped 
along  the  shore  and  backed  by  cocoanut  groves 
and  bamboo  forests.  In  Jolo  and  Basilan  the 
Commission  was  chiefly  occupied  in  interviewing 
army  officers  concerning  the  Moros.  There  was 
great  difference  of  opinion  among  these  officers 
concerning  the  powers  of  the  Sultan  and  the. 

97 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

Dattos,  and  concerning  the  questions  of  slavery  and 
religion. 

The  Americans  have  been  in  the  country  too 
short  a  time,  I  suspect,  and  too  few  know  the  lan- 
guage to  have  any  positive  knowledge  about  the 
Moros,  their  habits,  customs,  or  religion. 

ZAMBOANGA,  March  30,  1901. 

"\7ESTERDAY,  after  leaving  Basilan,  we  came 
-*-  on  to  Zamboanga,  over  a  glasslike  sea  and 
past  lovely  green  islands.  We  anchored  in  Zambo- 
anga harbor  about  four  o'clock.  General  Kobbe,  the 
commanding  officer,  Colonel  Pettitt,  and  a  number 
of  majors  and  captains,  came  on  board.  As  soon 
as  the  ceremony  of  receiving  them  was  over,  the 
Commissioners  went  to  the  town  where  they  inter- 
viewed the  natives.  The  town  is  not  as  pretty  as 
Jolo;  in  fact  I  believe  there  is  no  other  place  so 
charming  in  the  Philippines.  Most  of  the  town  of 
Zamboanga  was  burned,  and  only  one  street  remains 
as  it  was  before  the  insurrectos  ruined  it.  This 
morning  we  went  on  shore  and  took  a  long  am- 
bulance drive  into  the  country.  We  saw  a  dirty 
Moro  town,  and  after  trying  to  buy  some  turbans 
we  went  back  to  the  club,  where  we  saw  a  fine  col- 
lection of  native  knives  belonging  to  Captain  Clo- 
man.  The  knives  are  magnificent ;  some  have  gold, 
silver,  and  ivory  handles,  and  others  are  made  with 
wooden  handles  elaborately  carved.  In  the  morning 

98 


the  Commission  held  a  public  session.  The  prov- 
ince of  Zamboanga  is  peaceful,  and  the  people  ap- 
pear interested  in  the  new  civil  government.  The 
presidentes  of  all  the  towns  we  have  visited  are 
gentle  and  homely  old  men,  who  certainly  seem 
friendly.  The  Commission  holds  an  open  session 
in  every  town,  to  which  all  natives  are  invited,  and 
many  of  the  principal  inhabitants  are  asked  to  ex- 
press their  opinions  on  the  topics  discussed.  At  yes- 
terday's session  the  native  speakers  looked  intelli- 
gent and  spoke  well.  There  are  not  many  Filipinos 
in  Mindanao,  but  they  want  civil  government. 
They  are  poor,  all  their  carabaos  having  died.  The 
military  authorities  have  established  a  very  good 
government  and  naturally  do  not  want  anyone  to 
interfere  with  it.  The  Moros  are  not  to  be  governed 
under  the  same  laws  as  the  Filipinos. 

Last  night  the  officers  of  the  garrison  gave  us  an 
unusually  pretty  ball ;  the  club  house  was  well  deco- 
rated with  palms  and  flowers.  We  received  with 
General  Kobbe,  and  his  aides  brought  up  a  motley 
collection  of  Filipinos,  men  and  women — Moros, 
Chinamen,  Spaniards,  and  Americans.  It  was  like 
a  masquerade  ball,  and  the  costumes  and  colors 
made  a  brave  show.  The  Moros  were  the  most  pic- 
turesque figures,  dressed  in  gay  trousers,  sashes,  and 
turbans.  One  young  Datto  wore  a  green  satin 
jacket,  skin-tight  lemon  colored  trousers  and  an 
orange  silk  sash ;  his  turban  was  a  gay  striped  hand- 

99 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

kerchief.    The  men  look  fierce  and  carry  big  knives, 
but  the  women  have  very  mild  faces. 

March  31,  1901. 

THIS  morning  we  drove  in  the  ambulance 
through  a  beautiful  tropical  country.  The 
groves  of  mangoes,  cocoanuts,  and  other  trees,  with 
a  thick  undergrowth  of  brilliant  flowers  and  bushes, 
make  the  jungle  of  our  imagination.  It  was  not 
noticeably  hot,  for  a  breeze  came  in  from  the  sea. 
We  were  received  everywhere  with  smiles  and  wav- 
ing of  hands  as  we  passed  by,  but  everywhere  we 
are  warned  that  this  is  part  of  a  deep  laid  scheme 
to  deceive  us. 

OFF  SOUTHERN  MINDANAO,  April  i,  1901. 

ON  Monday  morning  after  a  twelve  hours'  run 
we  anchored  off  the  coast  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Rio  Grande  de  Mindanao.  Almost  before  we 
had  cast  anchor,  the  quartermaster's  launch  from 
Cotabato,  the  principal  town  on  the  river,  had  made 
fast  to  our  gangway  and  two  Dattos,  powerful 
chiefs  of  the  Moros  in  this  part  of  Mindanao,  came 
on  board.  Piang  and  AH  were  their  names.  Piang 
is  a  half-breed  Chinese-Moro  and  is  lively,  clever, 
and  crafty.  Ali,  a  more  stolid  and  cruel-looking 
man,  sat  impassive  during  the  interview.  Major 
McMahon,  the  officer  in  command  in  Cotabato,  ac- 
companied them  to  the  transport  and  remained  to 

100 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

dine  with  us.  He  sat  at  our  table  and  impressed 
us,  both  by  his  knowledge  of  and  spirit  toward  the 
natives.  He  reported  everything-  quiet  in  this  part 
of  Mindanao.  In  fact  there  has  not  been  a  shot 
fired  here  since  the  Americans  came  in.  The  Moros 
are  regarded  politically  as  wards  of  the  nation  like 
our  Indians.  Justice  is  administered  through  the 
Dattos,  but  all  are  under  the  United  States  author- 
ity. The  Filipinos  and  Spaniards  in  this  province 
are  few  in  number,  and  the  Filipinos  have  almost  all 
been  convicts  and  belong  to  the  lowest  class.  Major 
McMahon  thinks  the  Moros  are  the  best  type  of  all 
the  races  living  here.  Cotabato  lies  about  four  miles 
up  the  Rio  Grande  de  Mindanao,  which  may  be 
navigated  for  fifty  or  sixty  miles  by  tugs  and  gun- 
boats. The  banks  are  fringed  with  a  growth  of 
willowlike  trees,  and  look  very  much  like  the  banks 
of  the  lower  Sacramento  River,  with  the  difference 
that  monkeys,  parrots  and  a  beautiful  white  heron 
were  to  be  seen  springing  about  or  flying  among 
the  trees. 

The  launch  came  for  us  very  early  yesterday 
morning  and  the  women  of  the  party  embarked  in 
good  spirits,  having  heard  of  great  bargains  in 
knives,  sarongs,  and  betel  boxes.  The  river  has  a 
broad  delta  at  its  mouth  and  several  entrances.  We 
steamed  slowly  up  against  a  strong  current.  The 
party  was  saluted  with  shots  from  small  cannon, 
by  natives  living  along  the  banks  of  the  river.  The 

101 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

whitewashed  Spanish  fort  on  a  hill  above  the  town 
furnished  the  first  glimpse  of  Cotabato.  As  we 
approached  the  landing,  gayly  decorated  boats  shot 
out  from  the  shore  toward  our  launch,  and  music 
and  the  sound  of  exploding  firecrackers  filled  the 
air.  Everywhere  there  were  masses  of  brilliant  color 
and  crowds  of  fierce,  wild-looking  natives.  Over 
the  landing  and  up  the  streets  were  elaborate  arches 
and  out  of  all  the  windows  hung  bunting  and  palm 
leaves.  One  could  hardly  see  the  houses  for  the 
decorations.  As  we  stepped  on  shore  the  native 
school  children  sang  "  America,"  the  Moros  beat 
tom-toms  and  fired  off  cannon,  while  the  Filipino 
bands  played  national  airs.  Altogether  it  was  like 
our  reception  in  Jolo,  only  there  were  more  persons 
and  more  noise.  This  surprised  us,  for  the  town  is 
small,  until  we  learned  that  the  Moros  had  come  in 
from  fifty  miles  around.  They  were  a  fierce-looking 
lot  of  barbarians,  especially  the  Dattos,  'who  wore 
the  brilliant  turbans  and  gay  sarongs  we  had  already 
admired  in  Jolo  and  Zamboanga,  but  as  there  were 
three  times  as  many  persons  gathered  together  it 
was  many  times  as  gay. 

One  object  of  interest  to  curio  hunters  was  the 
betel-nut  box,  carried  by  a  slave  behind  the  Datto. 
Of  chased  silver,  it  is  in  shape  something  like  a  boat 
or  an  elongated  tub  and  contains  many  little  chased 
silver  boxes.  The  Dattos  will  not  sell  these  boxes, 
as  we  found  to  our  sorrow.  They  are  regarded  as 

1 02 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

a  badge  of  honor  for  the  high  chiefs.  From  the 
landing  we  went  in  procession  up  the  long  street, 
escorted  by  soldiers  and  followed  by  a  band  of  Fili- 
pinos dressed  in  brilliant  yellow  flowered  jackets 
and  tight-fitting  cobalt  blue  cotton  trousers.  There 
were  also  twenty  natives  in  costume ;  ten  represented 
Christians  and  ten  were  dressed  like  Moros.  Half 
the  company  was  armed  with  swords  and  half  car- 
ried spears.  Those  with  spears  had  long  narrow 
shields,  and  those  with  swords  carried  heavy  round 
ones  of  black  wood  decorated  in  a  white  diamond 
pattern.  The  spears  and  long  sharp  swords  looked 
very  formidable,  and  every  now  and  then  I  caught 
Auria  by  the  hand,  unable  to  refrain  from  a  slight 
shiver  as  I  remembered  the  tales  of  Mohammedans 
running  amuck  at  the  sight  of  Christians.  Auria, 
however,  appears  to  like  Dattos  and  shakes  hands 
with  them  on  every  occasion.  In  the  Commandant's 
headquarters  a  delegation  of  Chinamen,  who  are, 
as  everywhere,  the  middlemen  and  traders,  awaited 
the  Commission.  They  have  the  name  of  being 
great  cheats,  but  they  look  clean  and  clever.  Later 
the  Commission  held  a  morning  meeting,  and, 
among  others,  Datto  Piang  was  interviewed  on 
many  pertinent  questions  relating  to  population, 
taxes,  slavery,  gambling,  religion,  and  so  on.  He 
is  a  canny  creature,  and  I  confess  not  to  have  felt 
much  confidence  in  him. 

The  interview  closed  with  the  usual  compliments 
103 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

on  both  sides,  and  Piang  stated  that  the  Moros  so 
loved  the  representatives  of  the  American  Govern- 
ment that  should  they  leave  Mindanao  he  and  his 
men  would  follow  them  to  America.  Judge  Taft 
politely  answered  that  he  would  be  glad  to  have  them 
visit  the  United  States.  Piang,  emboldened  by  this 
affability,  made  the  following  statement  which  I 
shall  give  just  as  the  interpreter  translated  it: 
"  After  the  American  troops  came  here,  a  colonel  of 
the  Spanish  army  arrived  here  and  he  says  to  me: 
'  What  did  you  do  with  the  cross  and  ribbon  and 
band  that  I  gave  you  ?  '  '  Pooh,'  he,  Piang,  says : 
'  I  threw  them  into  the  river,'  and  he,  the  Spanish 
colonel,  says :  '  What  did  you  do  that  for  ?  '  and 
he,  Piang,  says :  '  When  the  American  troops  came 
here,  they  gave  me  the  American  flag,  and  that  is 
all  I  wanted,  and  everything  the  Spaniards  gave  me 
I  threw  into  the  water.'  He,  the  Spanish  colonel, 
says :  '  He,  Piang,  ought  not  to  have  thrown  the 
cross  and  band  into  the  river,  because  the  American 
Government  was  just  as  bad  as  the  Spanish  Govern- 
ment,' and  he,  Piang,  says :  '  No,  the  American  Gov- 
ernment, when  they  came  here,  have  treated  me 
like  a  brother,'  and  he,  Piang,  says :  '  When  the 
Spanish  Government  came  it  raised  hell  and  fight 
us  all  the  time.' '  With  utmost  gravity  Judge 
Taft  thanked  him  again,  and  Piang  walked  off,  fol- 
lowed by  his  betel-nut  box  bearer  and  slave,  feeling, 
I  am  sure,  that  he  had  made  a  good  impression. 

104 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

After  the  interview  with  Piang,  thinking  the  fun 
was  over,  we  went  to  look  for  curios,  but  I  found 
only  two,  a  kriss  and  a  sarong,  or  native  skirt, 
striped  in  brilliant  yellow,  red,  and  green.  An  officer 
took  us  in  an  ambulance  to  the  top  of  the  hill  from 
which  there  is  a  fine  view  of  the  valley  of  Cotabato. 
Through  this  valley  winds  the  great  river  of  Min- 
danao. From  our  point  of  view  one  looked  over  the 
green  valley  and  scores  of  miles  of  wonderfully  fer- 
tile plain,  dotted  with  clumps  of  cocoanut  and  bam- 
boo, while  vast  -stretches  of  sugar  cane  lie  between 
them,  and  Moro  towns  nestle  in  the  wide  green 
expanse.  It  was  late  when  we  returned  to  town, 
and  we  drove  immediately  to  the  club.  There  we 
found  a  number  of  mestizas  and  natives  assembled 
with  the  members  of  the  garrison.  A  lunch  awaited 
us,  but  the  Commissioners  were  late  as  usual,  and 
it  was  half  past  one  when,  half  starved,  we  sat 
down  to  an  excellent  luncheon.  I  believe  that  the 
Commissioners  would  rather  listen  to  the  talk  of 
natives  than  to  eat.  As  soon  as  luncheon  was  over 
we  were  escorted  to  the  plaza  where  brilliant  awn- 
ings had  been  spread  to  protect  us  from  the  heat. 
We  waited  some  time  for  the  show  to  begin,  but 
the  natives  were  gathering  in  crowds  and  it  was 
interesting  to  watch  them,  as  it  was  probably  amus- 
ing to  them  to  observe  our  strange  attire  and  pale 
faces.  Finally  the  Commissioners  appeared  with  a 
train  of  gorgeously  arrayed  Dattos  with  their  slaves. 

105 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

One  of  the  principal  chief's  followers  was  a  villain- 
ous-looking Moro  with  his  ear  hanging  on  his  neck 
where  it  had  been  sliced  down  by  a  blow  from  a 
kriss.  Many  of  the  Moros  are  badly  scarred.  But 
generally  a  sharp  barong  or  kriss  will  cut  a  man's 
head  open  at  a  blow,  and,  not  long  since,  an  officer 
told  me  that  a  man  was  cut  in  two  diagonally  from 
his  right  shoulder  across  the  body  to  his  left  side 
under  the  arm,  one  blow  severing  flesh,  muscles,  and 
bones.  I  have  my  doubts  as  to  the  truth  of  this 
tale. 

The  first  number  on  the  programme  was  a  dance 
by  two  little  Moro  girls.  They  were  carried  in 
by  slaves  and  placed  on  white  mats,  as  they  may 
not  walk  on  the  ground.  They  wore  long  yellow 
silk  skirts,  white  waists,  silver  belts  and  suspender- 
like  bands  of  silver  ribbon  crossed  over  the  breasts. 
Their  headdress  was  pretty  and  curious.  A  tightly 
fitting  band  of  chased  metal  passed  over  the  fore- 
head and  front  part  of  the  head.  The  hair  was 
twisted  into  a  knot  at  the  back,  through  which  a 
horn  comb  was  thrust,  shaped  like  the  crescent 
moon.  From  the  tips  of  the  comb  hung  dozens  of 
long  chains  made  of  papier-mache  balls  covered 
with  red  and  blue  silk.  These  long  dangles  floated 
about  as  the  little  girls  swayed  to  and  fro  in  a 
muscle  dance.  The  hands  and  arms  were  used  in 
every  conceivable  way.  These  children's  faces  were 
like  sphinxes,  as  immobile  as  rocks,  and  they  looked 

1 06 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

as  if  they  had  never  been  young  and  would  never 
grow  old.  When  they  had  finished  there  were 
dances  by  women  from  the  mountains,  wearing 
heavy  brass  rings  on  their  ankles  and  bracelets  from 
their  wrists  to  their  elbows.  All  the  dances  were 
similar  in  character,  there  was  little  motion  of  limb 
but  a  snakelike  muscle  movement. 

After  the  women,  men  with  spears  and  shields 
appeared  and  a  repetition  of  the  Jolo  war  dance  was 
given.  Yet  the  last  two  dances  were  quite  different 
from  any  we  had  seen,  for  they  were  dramatic  in 
character.  One  represented  a  battle  between  Moros 
and  Christians.  As  the  participants  carried  long 
naked  swords  and  sharp  spears  the  fighting  was 
rather  a  series  of  poses  than  dancing.  However,  it 
was  realistic  enough  to  make  one  glad  when  the 
Christians  utterly  vanquished  the  Moros  and  stood, 
each  one  triumphant,  over  the  prostrate  body  of  a 
foe.  The  third  number  on  the  programme  was  a  play. 
It  consisted  of  a  dialogue  between  an  old  man  in 
gorgeous  attire,  who  represented  Spain,  and  half 
a  dozen  little  Moros  whose  skins,  already  dark,  had 
been  blackened  to  represent  the  original  inhabitants 
of  America.  They  were  dressed  in  red  shirts  and 
black  paper-muslin  trousers.  Their  antics  were 
amusing,  and  Spain  seemed  to  be  unable  to  subdue 
them.  The  Chinese  interpreter  gave  us  to  under- 
stand that  it  represented  the  discovery  of  America. 
It  ended  with  a  long-winded  eulogy  of  the  Civil 
8  107 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

Commission,  characterizing  its  advent  in  the  Philip- 
pine Islands  as  the  crowning  event  'in  the  history 
of  the  New  World.  It  is  not  as  amusing  as  one 
might  imagine  to  listen  to  eulogies  for  half  an  hour 
in  an  unknown  tongue.  The  pleased  and  interested 
expression  with  which  Judge  Taft  and  his  col- 
leagues received  the  first  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  of 
the  eloquent  panegyric  gradually  stiffened  into  a 
set  smile,  and  I  saw  more  than  one  yawn  suppressed 
behind  a  Manila  hat  brim  before  the  orator  con- 
cluded. It  was  an  experience  to  remember  and  we 
went  back  to  the  Sumner  tired  and  happy.  The 
long  trip  down  the  river  on  the  launch  was  even 
more  beautiful  in  the  moonlight  than  it  had  been 
in  the  glare  of  the  morning  heat. 

April  3,  1901. 

ALL  day  we  have  been  steaming  past  a  lonely 
•£*•  coast  where  the  jungle  encroaches  on  the  shore 
and  rugged  mountains  suggest  a  wild  interior  coun- 
try. Toward  evening  our  course  lay  between  the 
mainland  and  an  island;  not  far  inland  the  isolated 
cone  of  a  volcano  varied  the  coast  line.  The  moon 
rose  in  a  sky  bright  with  the  reflected  glory  of  a 
gorgeous  sunset;  the  breeze  was  fresh  and  the  sea 
a  bit  rough;  we  sat  on  deck  wrapped  in  shawls,  a 
rather  unusual  experience  so  far  south.  We  were 
in  latitude  six  degrees  north.  It  has  been  a  relief  to 
be  on  shipboard  for  twenty-four  hours,  and  we  have 

108 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

rested    preparatory    to    the    next    stopping    place, 
Davao,  which  we  shall  reach  to-morrow  morning. 

April  4,  1901. 

THIS  morning  we  anchored  off  Davao,  a  small 
village  in  a  fine  bay.  Behind  the  nearer  moun- 
tains rises  Apo,  a  large  volcano,  10,312  feet  high. 
We  cannot  see  the  crater  as  the  summit  is  covered 
with  clouds.  It  was  hot  this  morning  at  seven,  and 
we  are  anchored  about  six  miles  from  land. 

April  5,  1901. 

"X/'ESTERDAY  was  an  interesting  day.  We 
-*-  went  on  shore  about  nine,  were  received  by 
officers,  Filipinos,  Moros,  and  the  representatives 
of  six  mountain  tribes.  These  mountain  tribes  are 
the  most  interesting  and  the  most  picturesque  people 
we  have  yet  met.  The  dress  of  the  men  is  a  richly 
ornamented  hemp  or  cotton  jacket  and  trousers, 
woven  in  elaborate  geometrical  patterns.  Many  of 
the  jackets  are  covered  with  spangles  made  of 
mother-of-pearl  shells,  sewed  on  in  effective  designs. 
The  trousers  are  short,  reaching  only  to  the  knee, 
and  are  similarly  trimmed.  Their  arms  are  cov- 
ered with  bracelets,  and  they  wear  strings  of  beads 
and  brass  rings  about  their  legs  just  below  the  knee. 
It  is  hard  to  see  how  they  keep  them  from  slipping 
off.  Their  turbans  are  of  two  kinds.  It  is  reported 
that  those  who  have  killed  one  man  wear,  ordi- 

109 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

narily,  colored  trousers,  but  those  who  have  killed 
two  men  wear  a  red  jacket  and  a  turban  ornamented 
with  white  spots  woven  in  a  prescribed  pattern.  They 
adorn  themselves  with  a  great  many  beads  of  dif- 
ferent colors,  either  woven  into  belts  or  as  earrings 
and  chains  about  the  neck. 

Many  of  the  men  carried  embroidered  sacks  on 
their  backs  covered  with  beads  worked  in  fantastic 
designs.  All  the  different  tribes,  both  men  and 
women,  had  their  ear  lobes  stretched  to  carry  im- 
mense earrings ;  some  of  the  holes  in  their  ear  lobes 
were  large  enough  to  carry  a  silver  half-dollar.  In 
the  endeavor  to  enlarge  the  hole  quickly,  the  ear 
lobe  is  frequently  torn  in  two,  leaving  two  strings 
of  flesh  hanging  down  from  the  ear.  In  stature 
the  mountain  tribes  are  larger  and  finer  looking 
than  the  Moros;  many  were  really  handsome  in 
their  picturesque  costume.  Their  weapons  were 
spears  and  short  knives.  They  carried  the  knife  in 
a  metal  sheath,  curiously  worked  and  trimmed  with 
little  metal  bells.  The  bells  made  a  soft  tinkling 
sound.  In  addition  each  man  wore  a  large  bolo  at 
his  side,  thrust  into  a  sheath.  All  were  barefooted. 
The  women's  dress  consisted  of  a  hemp  skirt,  beau- 
tifully woven  in  rich  colors  and  curious  designs,  a 
jacket  like  those  worn  by  the  men,  although  not  so 
elaborately  trimmed.  Many  women  had  large  round 
buttonlike  disks  of  ivory  in  the  lobes  of  their  ears 
about  the  size  of  a  twenty-five  cent  piece,  with 

no 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

chains  of  beads  crossing  under  the  chin  from  ear 
to  ear. 

After  the  Commission  had  received  the  delegates 
of  the  various  tribes,  we  went  back  to  the  Sumner 
for  lunch,  and  in  the  afternoon  we  returned  to 
shore  and  were  entertained  with  dances.  The 
dances  of  the  mountain  tribes  are  more  lively  and 
graceful,  and  more  like  our  idea  of  dancing  than 
the  Moro  dances.  Their  anklets  and  bracelets  made 
a  tinkling  accompaniment  to  the  dance.  The  mu- 
sical instruments  were  three  bronze  tubs,  beaten  with 
metal,  and  a  wooden  drum.  The  army  officers  at 
Davao  were  a  major  in  the  regular  army,  two  vol- 
unteer captains,  and  several  lieutenants.  There  were 
two  women  and  a  boy  at  the  post.  Three  of  the 
officers  will  settle  here  when  they  are  discharged 
and  go  into  the  business  of  cattle  raising  and  farm- 
ing. There  is  certainly  a  chance  to  make  money 
here  if  one  is  willing  to  exile  himself  from  civiliza- 
tion. 

SURIGAO,  April  6,  1901. 

SINCE  leaving  Davao,  we  have  been  steaming 
steadily  for  thirty-four  hours.  The  sea  was  not 
very  rough,  still  several  were  laid  low,  especially 
the  head  of  the  Federal  party,  who  was  the  most  for- 
lorn looking  Filipino  imaginable.  Everyone  was 
low-spirited  and  I  imagine  more  were  ill  than  ac- 
knowledged it.  I  asked  several  persons  in  a  sym- 

iii 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

pathetic  tone  if  they  felt  seasick,  but  they  all  re- 
sented the  idea.  The  east  coast  of  Mindanao  is 
rugged  and  broken,  with  several  high  mountain 
peaks.  Early  this  morning  we  came  to  the  north 
coast  and  saw  some  beautiful  green  islands.  The 
currents  were  swift,  and  reminded  me  of  places  in 
the  trip  to  Alaska.  The  soil  of  the  islands  was 
bright  red.  Surigao  lies  in  a  fine  bay,  with  good 
anchorage  near  the  town.  From  the  ship  we  can 
see  several  large  attractive-looking  houses  along 
the  shore;  behind  rise  the  palms  and  tropical  for- 
ests. It  is  raining  hard  and  I  doubt  if  we  get  on 
shore  to-day. 

April  7,  1901. 

WE  did  go  on  shore  at  Surigao  and  were  sorry 
for  it,  as  it  poured  and  we  came  back 
drenched.  In  all  the  towns  we  visit  there  are  pleas- 
ant and  useful  young  officers,  who  devote  themselves 
to  the  ladies,  and  show  us  the  sights  and  tell  us 
what  we  can  buy.  We  stayed  for  the  Commission 
meeting,  but  the  natives  were  dirty,  and  the  presi- 
dentes  looked  stupid.  One  had  been  the  insurgent 
governor,  and  was  a  little  shy  in  expressing  himself 
when  asked  about  the  affairs  under  his  regime.  It 
must  seem  strange  to  these  ex-insurrecto  officers 
that  the  authorities  calmly  discuss  political  matters 
with  them  and  ask  their  opinion  about  the  best  way 
of  governing  the  country  instead  of  hanging  them, 

112 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

as  the  Spaniards  would  have  done.  We  left  Surigao 
at  four  o'clock  and  -steamed  all  night  till  seven 
o'clock,  when  we  reached  Cagayan.  Here  General 
Capistrano  was  brought  in  about  four  days  ago, 
the  last  of  the  insurgents  in  Mindanao.  There  are 
some  ladrones  left  but  no  longer  an  organized  force. 
The  town  lies  about  two  miles  up  the  river,  and 
several  of  us  went  up  in  the  morning  with  the 
Commission  to  attend  the  banquet  at  twelve.  The 
children  and  others  of  the  party  went  up  later  in 
a  launch.  The  decorations  were  pretty,  and  pony 
races  as  well  as  a  banquet  had  been  arranged  for 
our  entertainment.  For  a  year  the  town  has  been 
deserted,  all  the  inhabitants  having  gone  to  the 
mountains.  Since  the  surrender  of  Capistrano  they 
have  been  coming  in,  and  yesterday  the  town  was 
full  of  amigos.  General  Capistrano  took  an  im- 
portant part  in  the  conference.  He  has  evidently 
made  up  his  mind  that  it  is  wiser  to  be  a  civil  em- 
ployee than  a  refugee  general.  The  banquet  was 
very  good,  and  plenty  of  red  chillies  made  it  quite 
acceptable.  The  insurgent  general  sat  by  Mr.  Wor- 
cester, and  leading  citizens  were  scattered  here  and 
there  with  the  Commission.  The  garrison  has  a 
little  ice  plant  here,  and  the  health  of  the  soldiers  is 
good.  In  the  afternoon  the  Commission  held  a 
meeting.  On  account  of  a  sudden  storm  the  races 
were  declared  off,  and  to  our  relief  the  ball  had  to 
take  place  without  us.  Although  we  drove  from 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

the  landing  to  town  in  the  morning,  we  went  back 
by  the  river  in  the  evening.     . 

The  rain  was  pouring  down  when  we  gathered 
the  children  and  went  to  the  river  landing,  and 
night  was  rapidly  falling.  The  tide  was  running 
out  and  the  current  was  very  strong.  We  had  left 
the  Commission  still  holding  their  meeting  and  we 
sent  for  them  several  times  before  they  came,  and 
when  they  did  arrive  the  sun  had  set.  The  officer 
in  charge  of  the  launch  was  worried  at  the  delay  in 
starting,  as  the  tide  was  rapidly  falling,  and  he  did 
not  like  to  go  down  the  river  in  the  dark.  There 
were  the  remains  of  a  ruined  bridge  in  the  river, 
which  at  high  tide  was  covered  with  the  water.  To 
pass  it  safely  at  low  tide  required  careful  navigation 
by  day,  and  by  night  it  was  dangerous.  We  were 
crowded  in  the  launch  and  cutter,  and  floated  down 
the  river  very  slowly,  hardly  turning  the  propeller 
of  the  launch,  but  suddenly,  bump!  bump!  and  we 
struck  the  stone  bridge,  carrying  away  the  guard 
of  the  propeller  and  bending  one  of  the  blades.  This 
was  somewhat  terrifying,  for  we  did  not  know  how 
much  damage  had  been  done,  and  every  time  the 
propeller  blade  struck  the  guard  it  made  a  noise  as 
if  a  hole  were  being  knocked  in  the  bottom  of  the 
boat.  However,  we  all  remained  quiet  until  we 
struck  something  else.  This  so  frightened  the  chil- 
dren that  some  of  them  began  to  cry.  In  addi- 
tion we  were  nearly  suffocated  by  heat,  steam,  the 

114 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

warm  rain,  and  the  crowd.  After  getting  off  the 
second  time  the  launch  stuck  fast  in  the  mud.  Time 
and  again  we  ran  aground,  and  finally  we  were 
obliged  to  unload  the  launch  into  the  already  over- 
loaded cutter.  We  knew  the  river  was  full  of  alli- 
gators and  this  added  to  our  discomfort.  It  took 
us  two  hours  to  go  about  a  mile.  Finally  we  reached 
the  bar  and  anchored.  Here  we  attempted  to  at- 
tract the  attention  of  the  officers  of  the  Sumner  by 
burning  red  signal  lights.  After  a  time  the  captain 
saw  us,  and  the  Sumner  turned  her  searchlight  on 
the  channel  so  we  could  see  our  way  out,  while  she 
steamed  herself  as  near  shore  as  she  dared.  A 
second  cutter  was  lowered  and  met  us  half  way, 
.but  we  did  not  have  to  use  it,  for  the  sea  had 
suddenly  become  smooth  as  so  often  happens  after 
dark  in  the  tropics.  Had  the  sea  been  rough  and 
breaking  on  the  bar  I  don't  know  what  would  have 
happened  to  us. 

DAPITAN,  April  8,  1901. 

THIS  morning  when  I  awoke  we  were  anchored 
in  a  landlocked  bay,  like  a  Swiss  Alpine  lake, 
with  a  village  nestled  in  the  dip  of  the  mountains, 
dominated  by  a  great  church,  built  of  whitewashed 
galvanized  iron,  but  looking  like  marble  in  the  sun- 
light. Soon  after  anchoring  the  rain  came  on  and 
I  did  not  go  ashore.  They  say  it  is  a  pretty  little 
town  and  in  a  most  satisfactory  condition,  having 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

never  been  in  insurrection.  There  is  an  efficient 
army  officer  in  charge  who  will  remain  in  the  civil 
service.  This  afternoon  we  go  to  Dumaguete  and 
thence  to  Iloilo. 

April  9,  1901. 

WE  stood  off  Dumaguete,  a  town  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  island  of  Negros,  about  five  o'clock 
last  night  in  a  pouring  rain.  The  water  near  this 
coast,  as  near  many  of  the  islands,  is  too  deep  to  per- 
mit the  ship  to  anchor.  In  such  cases  the  captain  sails 
up  and  down  all  night  off  the  shore.  It  is  unpleasant 
when  there  is  not  a  landing  near  the  anchorage,  for 
we  are  obliged  to  land  in  boats,  and  in  rough  seas 
they  toss  about  in  a  terrifying  manner.  The  trip 
is  especially  to  be  dreaded  if  the  children  are  with 
us.  Dumaguete  is  a  clean,  pretty  little  town  on  a 
fertile  island,  where  there  has  been  no  trouble,  and 
the  people  are  well-to-do.  They  raise  sugar  and 
cocoanuts,  rice  and  other  crops,  and,  according  to 
the  knowing  ones,  it  is  the  best  place  for  business 
in  the  Philippines.  There  was  a  very  large  crowd 
at  the  landing  to  meet  us.  A  raft  of  bamboo  had 
been  anchored  to  the  shore  and  ran  out  in  the  shal- 
low water  to  the  launch.  The  natives  had  not 
imagined  we  were  such  weighty  persons.  There- 
fore, when  Judge  Taft  and  his  colleagues  stepped 
on  the  raft  it  sank  over  our  ankles,  and  we  all  got 
our  feet  wet.  A  pretty  arch  had  been  erected  near 

116 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

the  shore,  and  from  the  landing  to  the  townhall,  a 
distance  of  two  or  three  blocks,  a  bamboo  arbor 
decorated  with  flags  and  bunting  and  covered  with 
sheeting  kept  off  the  sun.  There  were  five  Filipino 
bands  besides  the  military  band  at  the  landing,  and 
when  we  started  up  the  street  all  six  began  to  play. 
They  marched  beside  us  up  the  road,  each  playing 
a  different  tune.  The  effect  was  ear-splitting. 

We  reached  the  gayly  decorated  Ayuntamiento, 
where  we  were  received  by  the  presidentes  and  their 
wives.  The  latter  were  gayly  dressed  in  blue  and 
pink  silk  shirts,  and  embroidered  "  camisas "  and 
neckerchiefs.  One  girl  wore  a  skirt  of  red  and 
white  stripes;  the  waist  was  blue  with  white  stars. 
The  men  all  wore  black  coats,  and  some  of  them 
were  especially  fine  in  ruffled  and  shirred  shirt 
fronts.  We  sat  with  the  mestizas  in  straight-backed 
chairs  around  the  room  and  listened  with  more  or 
less  interest  to  a  discussion  of  the  division  of  the 
island  into  two  provinces,  to  be  called  Occidental 
and  Oriental  Negros.  A  mountain  range  separates 
the  two  parts  of  the  island,  and  there  is  much  dis- 
satisfaction at  the  manner  in  which  taxes  gathered 
in  Oriental  Negros  are  spent.  There  w'as  as  usual 
much  eloquence  displayed  and  very  little  speaking 
to  the  point,  but  with  his  unfailing  kindness  and 
tact  Judge  Taft  disentangled  facts  from  their  wrap- 
ping of  oratory  and  toward  evening  the  division  was 
satisfactorily  arranged.  The  two  sessions  were  in- 

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UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

terrupted  by  a  luncheon  served  downstairs,  in  which 
boiled  beans  and  numberless  dishes  of  stewed  cara- 
bao  meat  figured,  ending  with  a  carabao  milk  cus- 
tard. I  shiver  to  think  of  it,  but  it  was  the  best 
they  had.  We  came  back  early,  and  I  am  not  going 
back  to  the  dinner  and  ball  to-night,  for  I  am  too 
tired  and  the  memory  of  the  carabao  stew  remains 
with  me  still.  The  long-suffering  Commissioners 
are  obliged  to  be  present  late  this  afternoon  at  races 
in  honor  of  their  visit.  This  is  beginning  to  pall, 
and  I  for  one  wish  we  were  going  back  to  Manila, 
now  that  the  really  strange  and  interesting  part  of 
the  trip  is  over.  Hereafter  the  entertainment  will 
consist  of  balls  and  banquets  in  Filipino  towns,  and 
no  more  Moros  or  hill  tribes  will  add  interest  and 
variety  to  our  visits  on  shore. 

SAN  JOSE,  ANTIQUE,  April  13. 

SINCE  writing  at  Dumaguete,  we  have  been  so 
busy  that  we  have  not  had  one  moment  from 
early  morning  till  late  at  night.  The  reception  at 
Iloilo  was  enthusiastic.  The  whole  town  was  deco- 
rated, and  there  were  a  number  of  arches  of  white 
cotton  cloth,  painted  with  figures.  There  were  others 
of  bamboo  that  were  very  pretty,  especially  at  night 
when  they  were  hung  with  colored  lanterns.  In 
two  days  we  attended  four  banquets,  two  balls,  and 
a  reception.  We  were  cheered  and  received  with 
hats  off  wherever  we  passed,  and  bands  without 

118 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

number  played  at  every  turn.  In  several  towns  little 
girls  threw  flowers  at  us,  and  in  fun  some  one  said 
this  morning  that  it  would  seem  very  tame  to  go 
back  to  America  and  not  have  a  band  turn  out. 

I  like  the  Visayans  better  than  the  Tagalogs. 
They  seem  more  cultivated  and  attractive  than  the 
latter.  The  Visayan  girls  and  women  are  very 
pretty.  Those  of  the  "  upper  "  classes  dress  with 
great  elegance  and  wear  gorgeous  jewels.  There 
are  pearls  like  pigeon  eggs  and  diamonds  without 
number  in  Iloilo,  in  old-fashioned  settings.  Our 
very  modest  adornments  fill  these  gayly  bedecked 
ladies  with  surprise.  One  of  them  asked  a  secre- 
tary's wife  why  the  Commission  ladies  had  not 
brought  their  diamond  necklaces  and  tiaras  with 
them,  and  to  "  save  our  faces  "  she  calmly  replied : 
"  We  were  afraid  they  would  be  stolen."  Bro- 
caded satin  skirts  are  worn  on  state  occasions,  and 
are  considered  the  height  of  elegance.  My  ancient 
pink  brocade  is  the  glory  of  the  party  and  meets 
with  the  approval  of  the  natives,  who  do  not  suspect 
its  age  nor  the  fact  that  it  is  quite  out  of  style  at 
home. 

The  young  Filipinos  we  meet  in  society  are  very 
polite,  and  desire  to  be  thought  men  of  the  world. 
They  are  the  rich  and  prominent  citizens,  but  at 
the  public  meetings  of  the  Commission  there  are 
many  natives  who  wear  their  shirts  outside  their 
trousers.  The  great  mass  of  the  people  are 

119 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

wretchedly  poor  and  live  in  dirt  and  misery.  In 
Jaro  a  gentleman  told  me  that  he  and  his  family, 
with  almost  the  whole  population,  fled  to  the  moun- 
tains when  the  Americans  came.  They  had  been 
told  that  their  lives  and  property  would  be  destroyed 
by  the  soldiers,  who  had  no  respect  for  women  or 
children.  Now  that  they  have  learned  the  true  in- 
tentions of  the  Americans  they  seem  ready  to  receive 
us  without  reserve.  The  newly  appointed  fiscal  was 
overflowing  with  expressions  of  joy  at  the  satis- 
factory relations  established  between  the  Americans 
and  Filipinos.  Everyone,  even  army  officers,  now 
acknowledge  that  the  insurrection  is  nearly  over  and 
that  civil  government  will  soon  be  established  every- 
where in  the  Islands. 

In  Molo  the  Woman's  Peace  League  gave  us  a 
reception,  and  one  could  not  but  smile  at  the  thought 
that  the  pink,  blue,  and  green  little  fluttering  crea- 
tures bedecked  with  diamonds,  who  offered  us 
sickeningly  sweet  ices  and  politely  asked  us  if  we 
would  like  a  glass  of  whisky,  were  really  the  ladies 
in  the  movement  for  the  emancipation  of  women 
we  had  heard  so  eloquently  described  by  a  brilliant 
young  orator.  We  are  often  offered  glasses  of 
whisky  by  these  misguided  natives,  who  think  all 
Americans,  male  and  female,  drink  it  by  the  bottle. 
One  dainty  little  mestiza  vainly  pressed  a  large  beer 
mug  full  on  our  member  .from  Vermont.  He  told 
her  that  Americans  do  not  drink  so  much  whisky. 

1 20 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

She,  however,  looked  calmly  at  him  and  said  slowly 
and  distinctly :  "  You  lie !  "  an  instance  of  the  kind 
of  English  these  people  are  learning  from  the  Amer- 
icans. 

We  attended  a  large  dinner  in  Jaro  during  our 
stay  where  we  met  several  charming  women  with 
gracious  manners.  At  all  these  functions  the  hosts 
and  principal  inhabitants  escort  us  to  the  table,  but 
they  never  sit  down  with  us.  It  is  the  custom  for 
them  to  wait  on  their  guests.  The  Filipino  who  was 
entertaining  us  in  Jaro  had  been  influential  in  the 
Spanish  days,  and  had  often  entertained  General 
Weyler.  My  escort  was  a  clever  young  lawyer, 
and  as  he  was  more  entertaining  than  Filipinos  usu- 
ally are,  I  asked  him  why  the  gentlemen  did  not 
sit  down  beside  the  ladies  they  escorted  to  dinner, 
and  invited  him  to  sit  down  by  me.  He  was  quite 
overcome  by  this  amiable  attention  and  said  the 
Spaniards  never  invited  their  hosts  to  sit  down  at 
the  same  table  in  houses  where  they  were  visiting. 
To  tell  the  truth,  I  repented  my  invitation  later  for 
my  escort  was  so  charmed  by  my  affability  that  he 
has  haunted  me  at  every  ball  and  banquet  since.  At 
the  public  banquets  it  is  touching  to  see  the  old 
presidentes  in  their  best  black  coats  flying  about 
wiping  off  knives  and  forks  and  passing  dishes. 
They  are  not  especially  deft  either,  and  for  my  part 
I  wish  they  would  not  do  it,  but  it  is  costumbre  del 
pais  and  we  have  to  submit. 

121 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

The  public  meetings  of  the  Commission  were 
held  in  the  theater  and  I  attended  several  ses- 
sions. The  box  provided  for  us  was  really  a 
box,  and  the  air  was  so  bad  that  I  did  not 
enjoy  it.  There  was  a  large  audience  of  natives 
present  including  alcaldes  and  teniente  alcaldes, 
consejales,  sindicos,  secretaries,  and  so  on,  from 
thirty-three  pueblos  of  Panay,  one  hundred  and 
forty-nine  in  all.  They  rejoiced  in  most  sonorous 
names,  as  for  example,  Francisco  Madeista,  Mar- 
cario  Supersticioso,  Petronillo  Villahermosa,  Sin- 
foroso  Cartegena,  Anselmo  Nacionales  Orbe,  Fran- 
cisco Armada  Intrepido.  Many  of  the  questions 
and  their  answers  brought  out  the  difference  be- 
tween our  ideas  and  those  to  which  these  people  are 
accustomed.  One  speaker,  for  instance,  suggested 
that  presidentes  might  appoint  delegates  who  had 
special  training  for  the  work  to  attend  the  quarterly 
meetings  in  their  place.  The  answer  was  that  the 
object  of  the  quarterly  meeting  was  to.  enable  the 
untrained  presidente  to  learn  from  the  more  experi- 
enced. In  speaking  of  the  ratio  of  salary  between 
the  presidente  and  secretary  of  a  pueblo,  one  some- 
what shabby-looking  representative  thought  the  sec- 
retary ought  to  have  proportionally  more  because  he 
was<  usually  a  poor  man  and  did  all  the  work,  while 
the  presidente  was  rich  and  had  comparatively  little 
to  do.  He  was  told  that  it  was  not  the  purpose  of 
the  Commission  to  restrict  the  position  of  presidente 

122 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

to  rich  men,  and  under  the  code  considerable  work 
would  be  required  of  him.  The  majority  of  the 
speakers  objected  to  the  land  tax,  and  one  idealist 
maintained  that  the  method  of  the  municipal  code 
for  classifying  municipalities  was  illogical,  because 
according  to  the  law  the  towns  were  classified  ac- 
cording to  population  instead  of  according  to  the 
culture  of  the  inhabitants.  When  asked  how  one 
could  determine  the  culture  of  a  town,  he  said  any- 
one could  tell  by  merely  entering  it.  After  a  pro- 
tracted discussion  in  which  Judge  Taft  showed 
phenomenal  patience,  the  gentleman  was  politely  re- 
quested to  embody  his  ideas  on  this  point  in  writing 
and  forward  it  to  the  Commission  in  Manila.  I 
hope  this  brilliant  idea  will  often  be  put  in  practice. 
Finally  General  Delgado,  formerly  the  insurrecto 
leader  in  Panay,  was  appointed  governor  on  the 
recommendation  of  the  military  governor. 

In  Iloilo  we  met  General  Hughes,  who  has  been 
of  great  assistance  to  the  Commission,  and  Major 
Noble  who  has  helped  him  in  the  pacification  of 
Panay.  On  our  departure  from  Iloilo  we  were  tired 
out,  for  we  had  been  going  every  moment  for  three 
days. 

We  left  at  midnight  and  at  seven  this  morning 
reached  Antique.  I  was  so  tired  after  last  night's 
ball  and  banquet  that  at  first  I  determined  not  to 
go  on  shore,  but  at  the  last  moment  changed  my 
mind.  Antique  is  situated  in  a  broad  bay,  with  a 
9  123 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

beautiful  beach  and  a  cocoanut  grove  growing  close 
to  the  water's  edge.  The  town  is  small,  but  the 
people  had  built  four  elaborate  bamboo  arches;  one 
was  three  stories  high  like  a  tower,  with  a  balcony 
from  which  two  little  girls  dressed  as  Goddesses  of 
Liberty  waved  American  flags  in  welcome.  Under 
this  arch  the  presidente  of  the  town  received  us  and 
read  a  speech  of  welcome.  There  were  many  amus- 
ing mottoes  on  the  arches.  "  Glory  and  honor  to 
the  Civil  Commission."  "  Hurrah  to  the  Civil  Com- 
mission U.  S.  A."  "  Many  welcomes  to  the  Hon. 
Civil  Commission."  As  we  passed  under  the  second 
arch  doves  decorated  with  red,  white,  and  blue  rib- 
bons were  let  loose.  A  band  preceded  us,  and  after 
passing  along  the  roadway  for  some  distance  we 
found  ourselves  in  a  great  square,  where  a  Goddess 
of  Liberty  was  seen  presumably  enlightening  the 
world  with  a  torch  that  looked  like  a  big  club.  She 
stood  on  a  pedestal,  on  which  were  printed,  regard- 
less of  spelling,  the  names  Wasington,  Lincon,  Mc- 
Kinly,  and  Taff.  The  figure  was  of  wood,  and  we 
learned  she  was  a  saint  brought  from  an  interior 
town  and  dressed  up  in  secular  garments  for  the 
occasion.  She  wore  a  purple  gown  with  a  deep 
flounce,  and  had  a  crown  on  her  head  and  an  Amer- 
ican flag  around  her  waist.  She  was  an  extraordi- 
nary creature  but  served  as  a  text  to  Judge  Taft 
who,  referring  to  this  statue,  fondly  imagined  to  be 
modeled  after  that  of  Liberty  Enlightening  the 

124 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

World,  said  such  a  statue  was  well  timed  in  its  ap- 
plication to  this  province  and  these  islands;  that 
liberty  was  a  force  much  misunderstood.  It  did  not 
mean  license  to  do  everything,  but  it  meant  that 
condition  which  prevails  under  a  government  or- 
ganized to  secure  such  liberty  to  the  individual  as 
was  consistent  with  law  and  order.  Judge  Taft's 
opening  addresses  are  always  admirable,  and  when 
they  are  dressed  up  in  the  rolling  sonorous  Spanish 
of  the  clever  secretary,  and  adorned  with  the  flour- 
ishes so  attractive  to  the  native  taste,  they  always 
make  an  impression.  On  more  than  one  occasion 
I  have  heard  Judge  Taft  say  that  when  he  has  made 
a  businesslike  statement  in  his  plain  Anglo-Saxon 
style,  he  leans  back  to  enjoy  the  mellifluous  tones  of 
the  secretary  translating  his  plain  talk  into  the  ora- 
torical Spanish  diction. 

Here,  as  everywhere,  the  people  are  begging  for 
public  schools.  They  have  none  in  this  province, 
and  a  plea  for  them  formed  part  of  all  the  addresses 
by  native  speakers. 

There  was  a  very  agreeable  officer's  wife  at  the 
post,  the  only  American  woman  in  town,  who  gave 
us  homemade  American  cake  and  lemonade,  and  kept 
up  our  spirits  until  the  banquet  hour  at  three.  The 
committee  expected  us  to  take  luncheon  at  the  offi- 
cers' quarters,  and  have  the  banquet  and  ball  in  the 
evening,  but  we  could  not  wait.  The  luncheon,  al- 
though prepared  in  a  hurry,  was  surprisingly  good. 

125 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

The  feature  of  the  table  decoration  was  a  great  silk 
flower  in  the  center,  which  opened  as  we  sat  down, 
allowing  dozens  of  little  birds  to  escape. 

I  was  sorry  for  the  native  ladies  who  had  been 
making  new  dresses  for  weeks  to  wear  at  the  ball 
which  we  could  not  attend.  We  are  taking  with  us 
an  insurrecto  general  who  two  weeks  ago  was  in  the 
mountains  righting  our  men,  and  who  now  is  our 
guest  and  apparently  our  warm  friend.  I  hope  he 
has  no  bolos  and  no  bad  intentions.  We  are  steam- 
ing along  with  a  fine  cool  breeze,  refreshing  after 
the  heat  and  the  banquet.  It  was  piping  hot  on  shore 
to-day,  and  it  was  touching  to  see  the  bareheaded 
children  and  old  men  and  women  trudging  along 
in  the  dust  accompanying  us  to  the  shore  to  say 
good-by. 

OFF  CEBIT,  April  16. 

/TAO-MORROW  it  will  be  two  months  since  I  left 
-*-  San  Francisco  the  second  time  for  the  Philip- 
pines, and  the  day  before  yesterday,  in  Capiz,  we 
received  our  first  letters  from  home.  Everyone  on 
the  boat  was  busy  with  them  all  the  morning.  It 
was  Sunday,  and  I  determined  to  give  myself  the 
luxury  of  a  rest,  so  I  did  not  go  ashore,  but  remained 
quietly  reading  and  writing.  Yesterday,  however, 
I  made  up  for  it.  We  went  over  to  Capiz  on  a 
launch  at  eleven  o'clock,  and  did  not  return  till  after 
twelve  at  night.  Capiz  is  situated  some  miles  up  a 

126 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

river,  and  ever  since  the  last  river  trip,  a  week  ago, 
I  am  not  anxious  to  float  about  in  the  darkness  at 
low  tide.  Last  night,  however,  all  went  well  except 
for  the  length  of  time  it  took  us  to  return — one  hour 
and  a  half — and  a  rough  sea  when -we  were  in  the 
channel.  The  river  was  full  of  phosphorus  tipping 
every  ripple,  and  behind  our  cutter  trailed  a  long 
wake  of  light.  The  fishes  darting  through  the  water 
were  goldfish,  and  drops  of  molten  gold  fell  from 
our  fingers  as  we  dipped  them  in  and  out  of  the 
water.  Along  the  banks  were  thorn  trees,  full  of 
fireflies.  They  looked  like  Christmas  trees.  Capiz 
is  a  pretty  place,  and  there  were  some  unusually  fine 
illuminations.  Four  houses  had  been  arranged  for 
us  on  shore,  where  we  were  expected  to  spend  the 
night,  but  we  decided  to  return  to  the  ship.  The 
banquet  was  served  in  the  convent,  where  a  number 
of  priests  and  ladies  served  us. 

In  Capiz  we  noticed  a  number  of  ladies  in  cos- 
tumes that  may  be  said  to  mark  a  transition  from  the 
charming  mestiza  costume  to  the  European  dress.  It 
is  ugly ;  a  tucked  waist  of  silk,  with  lace  and  ribbons, 
and  over  this  a  neckerchief,  while  flowers  and  bows 
decorate  the  shoulders.  Almost  all  of  the  girls  wore 
tight  belts,  with  buckles,  something  quite  unusual. 

The  public  session  in  Capiz. began  as  usual  with 
the  reading  of  the  Provincial  law,  which  I  am  sure 
I  can  now  repeat  from  memory,  in  both  English  and 
Spanish.  One  of  the  presidentes  was  eloquent  and 

127 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

complimentary  in  his  reference  to  the  beautiful 
American  ladies  present,  and  expressed  his  admira- 
tion at  their  fortitude  in  accompanying  the  Commis- 
sion, and  undergoing  the  many  hardships  of  the 
journey  in  their  desire  to  help  and  benefit  the  Fil- 
ipinos. I  thought  of  the  carabao  stew  and  the  warm 
champagne,  and  said  softly :  "  Muy  bien."  I  am 
afraid  the  credit  we  received  was  not  altogether  de- 
served, but  Filipinos  regard  a  sea  trip  as  full  of 
danger  and  misery. 

The  province  of  Capiz  is  in  a  sad  condition,  hav- 
ing been  devastated  by  war,  locusts,  and  the  cattle 
pest.  The  streets  were  thick  with  dead  locusts.  The 
presidente  of  Jimeno,  who  spoke  very  good  English, 
reported  that  the  people  of  his  town  were  very  poor, 
and  were  crying :  "  No  money  to  pay  policemen,  no 
money  to  buy  rice.  All  the  carabao  are  dead  and 
the  rice  is  all  gone,  eaten  by  locusts."  It  was  after- 
wards learned  that  several  delegations  from  the  in- 
terior were  in  town,  but  did  not  attend  the  meeting 
because  they  were  barefooted.  A  small  ten-year-old 
boy,  Penonto  Ludivico  Hedrosallo,  made  an  address 
in  excellent  English  with  an  almost  perfect  accent. 
He  was  complimented  by  Judge  Taft,  who  hoped 
that  very  soon  not  one,  but  all  of  the  boys  of  Capiz, 
would  speak  English,  to  which  sentiment  there  was 
a  salvo  of  Muy  bien  from  the  audience. 


128 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

OFF  BOHOL,  Friday,  April  19. 

THE  days  fly  now,  and  one  is  like  another.  We 
left  Cebu  this  morning  early,  and  are  steaming 
along.  The  coast  is  said  to  be  dangerous  with  shoals, 
rocks,  and  reefs.  Our  captain,  however,  is  a  very 
careful  navigator,  and  takes  no  risks.  We  spent  two 
days  in  Cebu.  It  is  the  largest  town  we  have  vis- 
ited since  leaving  Iloilo.  It  is  dirty  and  dusty  at 
this  season,  and,  according  to  the  commandant,  a 
dangerous  place  yet  unpacified.  There  are  many 
rich  citizens,  who  live  in  fine  houses,  and  there  are 
numbers  of  wealthy  Chinese  shopkeepers.  There  are 
several  fine  churches ;  one  contains  a  celebrated  won- 
der-working black  wooden  statue  called  the  Santo 
Nino.  Carromata,  coaches,  victorias,  and  every 
available  vehicle  on  two  or  four  wheels  met  us  at 
the  landing.  We  started  from  the  landing  in  fairly 
good  order,  but  I  cannot  say  there  was  anything 
imposing  in  the  procession,  for  once  in  motion  it 
straggled  or  raced  through  the  streets  according  to 
the  greater  or  less  degree  of  speed  which  the  yelling 
cocheros  could  beat  from  their  ponies.  The  Filipino 
cochero  is  a  sport,  and  sometimes  a  carromata  horse 
of  dilapidated  appearance  will  develop  extraordinary 
speed.  As  the  driver  has  no  respect  for  rank,  the 
conveyances  of  the  private  secretaries  sometimes  ar- 
rive first  at  the  place  of  public  meeting,  and  notables 
rush  out  to  receive  the  "  President  of  the  Honor- 
able Civil  Commission."  They  begin  their  eloquent 

129 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

speeches  of  welcome  as  the  private  secretaries  and 
their  wives  descend  from  the  carriages.  Explana- 
tions and  protests  follow  in  halting  Spanish,  and  the 
bewildered  natives  have  to  begin  all  over  again  when 
the  portly  form  of  "  the  Honorable  Presidente " 
looms  up. 

On  our  arrival  at  the  Ayuntamiento  a  delegation 
of  principales  and  citizens  made  long  speeches  of 
welcome  and  a  reception  in  the  courtroom  followed. 
Among  the  guests  were  two  elegant  Chinamen, 
richly  dressed,  wearing  large  bell-shaped  hats  tipped 
with  glass  knobs  and  covered  with  red  fringe.  After 
the  reception  we  went  to  the  theater,  quite  a  large 
building,  where  Judge  Taft  addressed  the  natives 
on  the  unsatisfactory  condition  of  the  Island  of 
Cebu.  Although  Cebu  has  been  recommended  for 
civil  government  by  the  military  governor,  there  is 
a  general  belief  that  the  inhabitants  do  not  deserve 
it,  as  there  is  much  unrest  in  the  province,  and  bands 
of  insurrectos  prowl  about  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  capital  to  the  great  alarm  of  the  officer  in  com- 
mand. President  Taft's  speech  was  quite  to  the 
point.  He  told  the  delegates  that  the  question  they 
must  face  was  whether  they  desired  two  or  three 
hundred  men  to  continue  a  hopeless  struggle  after 
the  insurrection  had  collapsed,  and  keep  the  people 
of  Cebu,  the  majority  of  whom  want  peace,  from 
achieving  that  desire.  In  order  to  obtain  peace  they 
must  organize  to  get  it,  and  the  Commission  had 

130 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

come  to  see  if  they  could  do  it.  "  This,  gentlemen, 
is  the  unfortunate  truth.  It  is  not  as  grateful  to 
your  ears  as  some  other  things  that  might  be  said, 
but  we  believe  in  speaking  plainly  and  showing  you 
what  our  attitude  is,  and  what  we  think  yours  should 
be.  We  want  to  give  you  civil  government ;  to  give 
you  such  individual  rights  as  are  enjoyed  by  every 
citizen  of  the  United  States,  but  within  the  sound 
of  arms  the  law  is  silent.  While  nothing  would  be 
a  source  of  more  regret  to  the  Commission  than  to 
leave  the  Island  of  Cebu  without  a  civil  organiza- 
tion, the  Commission  will  not  hesitate  to  do  so,  and 
to  leave  it  to  the  unfortunate  prominence  of  being 
the  only  province  in  the  archipelago  not  organized, 
because  of  its  condition,  should  that  condition  de- 
mand it."  You  see  the  President  of  the  Commis- 
sion is  not  the  soft-hearted  coddler  of  insurrectos 
that  some  critics  of  civil  government  would  have 
you  believe.  Later  he  held  out  the  promise  of  har- 
bor improvements  paid  for  from  the  general  fund 
if  peace  were  permanently  established. 

A  patience-testing  flow  of  Filipino  oratory  fol- 
lowed, and  after  a  time  we  escaped  and  drove  about 
the  picturesque  town  with  the  wife  of  a  prominent 
citizen  whose  father  is  an  old  Chinaman.  Although 
he  is  homely  as  our  old  cook,  his  Spanish  is  good, 
and  he  appears  to  be  a  gentleman.  We  saw  a  num- 
ber of  rambling  old  churches,  and  bought  a  few 
pieces  of  jusi,  ending  our  drive  at  the  house  of  the 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

presidente,  who  has  seven  daughters.  They  are 
pretty  girls,  and  have  agreeable  manners.  Auria 
was  made  happy  by  the  gift  of  a  toy  nipa  house  and 
a  pink  jusi  dress.  We  returned  to  the  Sumner  to 
dress,  and  in  the  evening  went  on  shore  to  a  banquet 
given  by  the  town  in  our  honor.  We  were  invited 
at  half-past  seven,  but  it  was  nine  before  we  sat 
down  to  dinner.  This  was  caused  by  the  too  great 
politeness  of  the  presidente's  wife,  who  came  to 
meet  us  at  the  landing,  escorted  us  to  the  club,  and 
then  went  home  to  dress.  This  took  her  so  long 
that  everyone  was  out  of  patience. 

Finally  dinner  was  announced,  and  we  filed  in. 
In  every  town  we  have  surprises,  and  in  this  place 
the  table  arrangements  were  different  from  any  we 
had  seen  before.  There  was  a  small  table  placed 
at  the  upper  end  of  the  room.  At  one  end  was 
placed  the  wife  of  the  presidente  of  Cebu,  at  the 
other  end  was  Mrs.  Taft,  while  Judge  Taft  sat-  on 
one  side  midway  between  the  two  ladies.  They  were 
so  far  away  from  each  other  and  everyone  else  that 
conversation  was  impossible,  so  they  sat  and  ate 
their  dinner  in  solitary  grandeur.  The  dinner  was 
long;  there  were  thirty-two  different  courses  on  the 
bill  of  fare.  The  members  of  the  club  waited  on 
the  table,  and  in  consequence  we  were  badly  served. 
A  noted  Filipino  judge,  solemn  and  sedate,  supplied 
us  with  knives  and  forks.  He  carried  them  off  and 
wiped  them  on  a  towel  behind  the  door,  and  then 

132 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

returned  them  to  the  guests,  but  never  to  the  orig- 
inal possessor.  I  sat  where  I  saw  this  performance, 
so  I  kept  mine  during  the  rest  of  the  dinner.  The 
ball  was  tiresome  and  we  went  home  early,  escorted 
by  a  guard  of  soldiers  as  far  as  the  landing,  on 
account  of  the  treacherous  character  of  the  citizens, 
so  said  the  commandant.  Yesterday  morning  the 
wife  of  the  presidente,  with  fourteen  leading  Fil- 
ipinas,  came  on  board.  We  showed  them  over  the 
ship;  they  went  everywhere  like  a  flock  of  birds, 
their  sleeves  fluttering,  their  slippers  clacking,  and 
their  voices  chattering.  Our  sailing  captain  has  a 
great  scorn  for  these  people.  He  said  not  one  of 
them  took  any  interest  in  the  laundry  or  kitchen, 
nor  could  they  ask  an  intelligent  question.  Finally, 
we  treated  them  to  ginger  beer,  with  ice,  and  com- 
missary candy.  One  old  lady  who  had  never  taken 
ice  before  had  a  chill,  and  the  ginger  beer  tickled 
her  nose,  so  altogether  we  had  an  exciting  time. 
We  went  on  shore  at  noon  to  visit  the  house  of  the 
Chinaman  I  mentioned,  where  luncheon  was  served, 
and  each  one  received  a  toothpick  of  silver  and 
mother-of-pearl.  I  have  quite  a  collection  of  these 
curiosities. 

At  last  we  left  Cebu,  tired  out  with  all  the  enter- 
tainment, but  the  visit  had  not  been  in  vain,  for  the 
citizens  promised  to  stop  supporting  the  insurrec- 
tion, and  they  were  given  civil  government  on  trial. 


133 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

April,  19,  1901. 

THIS  morning  we  anchored  off  Bohol,  and  the 
town  of  Tagbilaran  lay  in  front  of  us  on  a  hill. 
It  was  raining  over  there,  and  the  town  gleamed 
like  an  opal.  The  water  was  deliciously  green,  and 
one  tall  palm  dominated  the  place,  rising  above  the 
white  roofs  of  the  town.  About  twelve  o'clock  we 
started  for  shore.  The  town  lies  on  a  bluff,  and  is 
approached  either  by  a  carriage  road  or  the  so-called 
river,  which  is  really  a  strait  between  the  islands  of 
Bohol  and  Panglao.  We  went  up  by  carriage 
through  a  tropical  forest.  It  was  beautiful,  for  at 
every  turn  we  caught  glimpses  of  the  emerald  green 
water,  mottled  with  pale  gray  green  where  it  shoals 
over  coral. 

The  town  is  exceedingly  picturesque.  There  are 
some  good  stone  houses,  a  fine  well-proportioned 
church,  and  a  most  attractive  rambling  old  convento, 
built  on  a  hillside,  with  double  walls  and  terraces 
winding  around  it  on  the  river  side.  We  had  an 
amusing  time;  the  officers  had  provided  a  buffet 
luncheon  for  us,  and  after  it  we  took  a  siesta  in  a 
big  bedroom  overlooking  the  street.  As  we  could 
not  shut  the  windows,  we  were  obliged  to  wash  our 
faces  and  comb  our  hair  in  full  view  of  the  natives, 
to  their  intense  interest.  This  island  is  yet  under 
strict  military  law,  and  no  one  is  allowed  to  go  out 
of  town  without  an  escort  of  fifty  men.  Mrs.  Taft 
and  I  went  driving  in  a  quilez  through  the  streets, 

134 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

and  the  officers  made  us  take  a  pistol  to  our  great 
discomfort,  as  we  were  afraid  it  would  go  off  and 
hurt  us.  We  visited  the  church  and  took  a  walk, 
without  a  pistol,  through  picturesque  roadways, 
with  steps  cut  in  the  coral  rock.  I  cannot  tell  you 
how  European  and  mediaeval  it  was. 

In  the  evening  there  was  a  banquet  in  the  con- 
vento.  The  rooms  were  decorated  in  fresco,  repre- 
senting gardens  and  mountain  scenery  wonderfully 
well  done.  The  feature  of  the  dinner  was  a  great 
centerpiece  made  of  endless  varieties  of  bottled  and 
brandied  fruits,  with  fancy  flasks  of  whiskies  and 
all  kinds  of  liqueurs  and  bottles  of  strange  appear- 
ance. I  was  prevailed  upon  by  an  insurrecto  gen- 
eral to  taste  a  curious  dark  liqueur,  a  liver  tonic  as 
I  found  out  later,  to  my  horror.  Don't  you  wonder 
we  are  alive  ?  But  "  die  rather  than  hurt  a  prin- 
cipale's  feelings  "  is  my  motto,  and  I  live  up  to  it. 
If  they  were  really  waiters  one  would  not  mind  re- 
fusing the  deadly  "  dulce  "  and  lukewarm  cham- 
pagne, but  by  refusing  a  "  sigh  of  love  "  (a  sweet 
cake)  from  the  hand  of  a  wavering  "  amigo,"  one 
might  turn  him  into  an  "  enemigo,"  while  an  insur- 
recto might  be  won  over  by  drinking  with  him  a 
glass  of  liver  tonic.  I  inquired  afterwards  about 
the  remarkable  display  of  bottles  on  the  table,  and 
learned  that  they  had  been  lent  for  the  occasion  by 
the  saloon  keeper  and  the  apothecary  in  town,  and 
the  uncorked  stock  was  to  be  returned. 

135 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

After  dinner  we  sat  out  on  the  terrace  and 
watched  the  fireflies.  We  went  down  the  river  in 
two  unsteady  rowboats,  and  had  a  difficult  time  in 
getting  off  the  shoals.  There  have  been  two  inci- 
dents in  the  past  week  that  were  a  relief  from  the 
monotony  of  the  banquets  and  balls;  one  at  Cebu, 
where  we  arrived  at  sunset,  and  were  immediately 
surrounded  by  canoes  full  of  natives.  They  per- 
formed a  weird  dance,  accompanied  by  song  and 
handclapping.  This  was  preliminary  to  diving  for 
pennies.  Early  the  next  morning  we  were  awak- 
ened by  the  same  songs  and  dancing.  In  Tagbilaran 
there  was  a  torchlight  procession  in  our  honor. 
There  were  at  least  three  hundred  transparencies  in 
line.  They  were  made  of  colored  paper  in  various 
shapes,  of  ships,  stars,  flags,  animals,  and  fruits  in 
endless  variety.  It  was  like  a  fairy  scene. 

With  many  misgivings  Bohol  has  been  given  civil 
government.  It  is  hoped  the  people  will  try  to  stop 
the  fighting  now  that  Aguinaldo  has  published  a 
proclamation  telling  all  loyal  Filipinos  to  lay  down 
their  arms.  Samson,  the  leader  of  the  insurrectos, 
is  a  Tagalog,  whom  the  natives  of  Bohol  fear  and 
hate.  He  will  not  come  in,  for  he  has  been  told  that 
he  will  not  be  pardoned,  as  there  are  many  crimes 
to  his  account  besides  insurrection.  It  is  said  that 
he  has  relatives  in  town  who  rent  houses  to  the 
army  and  send  the  money  out  to  the  insurgents  in 
the  field.  It  was  finally  decided  by  the  commanding 

136 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

general  that  anything  Samson  would  do  to  bring 
about  peace  would  be  considered  in  the  proceedings 
against  him. 

April  20,  1901. 

-DAY  is  Sunday,  and  I  am  resting.  We  are 
lying  off  Tacloban,  and  the  Commissioners 
have  just  gone  on  shore.  No  doubt,  when  they 
come  back,  they  will  tell  us  it  is  the  finest  place  they 
have  seen. 

TACLOBAN,  April  21,  1901. 

THIS  morning  the  launch  carried  us  all  ashore. 
We  found  it  a  charming  place.  The  town  was 
decorated  in  palms  and  bunting,  and  with  elaborate 
arches.  On  the  top  of  one  arch  a  large  eagle  of 
painted  bamboo  flapped  its  wings  in  a  most  life- 
like manner  when  we  passed  under  it.  It  is  needless 
to  mention  that  several  bands  were  in  attendance. 
In  almost  every  street  there  were  rows  of  banana 
trees,  brought  in  from  the  jungle  and  stuck  in  the 
ground  to  decorate  the  town.  There  are  charming 
drives  over  coral  roads,  hard  and  smooth  as  mac- 
adam. The  colonel  has  a  very  nice  house,  as  neat 
as  wax,  a  garden,  a  lawn,  and  a  summer  house. 
After  luncheon  we  went  back  rather  early  to  the 
ship,  for  the  wind  was  blowing  and  the  waves  were 
high.  The  Commissioners  went  off  toward  even- 
ing on  a  gunboat  with  General  Hughes  to  Cat- 

137 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

balogan.  They  refused  to  take  us,  much  to  our  dis- 
appointment. We  think  it  is  because  Samar,  the 
island  where  they  are  going,  is  in  an  insurgent  dis- 
trict, and  they  say  the  town  is  fired  on  every  day  or 
two.  We  shall  be  here  till  Wednesday  noon. 

Tuesday,  April  22. 

T"\  TE  are  now  in  the  country  of  the  insurrectos, 
*  •  and  begin  to  hear  of  fighting.  Major  Gil- 
more  has  just  returned  from  an  all-night  hike  he 
had  made  into  the  country  back  of  this  town.  An- 
other party  is  out  hunting  two  native  friends  of  the 
Americans  who  were  carried  off  yesterday.  The 
two  islands  of  Samar  and  Leyte  lie  so  close  to  each 
other  that  the  insurrectos  in  Samar  swoop  down  on 
the  innocent  natives  of  Leyte  and  carry  them  off. 
The  inhabitants  of  Leyte  are  not  a  bad  people,  and 
the  officers  and  soldiers  seem  to  have  a  friendly 
feeling  toward  them.  Schools  have  been  established, 
and  one  could  see  in  several  towns  a  real  enthusiasm 
among  the  natives  for  the  officers  in  command. 
There  is  here  a  strong  desire  for  education,  and  the 
people  of  Tacloban  wish  to  have  secondary  schools 
established.  They  say  they  are  willing  to  contribute 
money  for  buildings.  One  of  the  features  of  the 
public  session  was  the  presence  of  a  number  of  the 
native  clergy.  This  is  the  first  town  we  have  visited 
in  several  weeks  where  they  have  not  discussed 
changing  the  capital  to  some  other  town.  Major 

138 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

Allen  has  been  appointed  governor,  and  the  choice 
was  that  of  the  people  as  well  as  of  the  Commis- 
sion. He  has  been  very  successful  in  managing  the 
natives. 

We  are  now  turned  toward  Manila,  and  shall 
reach  there  in  about  twelve  days.  I,  for  one,  shall 
be  glad  to  go  where  I  can  move  about  a  bit.  We 
are  very  crowded  in  our  stateroom.  The  Commis- 
sion returns  from  Catbalogan  to-morrow,  and  we 
sail  at  noon. 

BETWEEN  ALBAY  AND  NUEVA  CACERES,  April  27. 
'TVHE  Commission  returned  earlier  than  they  ex- 
-•-  pected,  so  we  left  Tacloban  in  the  morning 
about  dawn.  We  had  a  remarkable  experience  to- 
day. We  steamed  for  hours  through  water  from 
seventy  to  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  deep,  and 
we  could  see  the  bottom  as  plainly  as  if  it  were  not 
more  than  three  feet  from  the  surface.  The  bottom 
was  clear  white  coral,  and  in  places  we  could  see 
rocks.  As  these  waters  are  practically  uncharted,  it 
requires  most  careful  sailing  to  avoid  shipwreck. 
We  have  been  in  constant  danger  of  grounding  or 
going  on  reefs.  The  captain  says  that  after  we  have 
left  the  next  place,  Nueva  Caceres,  we  shall  only 
be  exposed  to  the  ordinary  perils  of  the  sea.  Doesn't 
that  sound  cheerful?  We  sailed  from  Tacloban  to 
Albay,  which  turned  out  to  be  a  ruined  town,  and 
the  Commission  meeting  was  held  in  Legaspi,  cele- 
10  139 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

brated  in  our  memory  chiefly  as  being  the  place 
where  the  Hancock  quartermaster  was  wounded. 

This  is  a  great  hemp  country;  fine  abaca,  a  thin 
pretty  fabric,  is  woven  here.  Legaspi  lies  at  the 
upper  end  of  a  bay,  at  the  foot  of  a  mountain  over 
eighty-nine  hundred  feet  high,  an  active  volcano 
that  has  caused  the  destruction  of  Albay  and  the 
surrounding  towns  on  several  occasions.  The  last 
eruption  was  in  1894,  when  a  thousand  persons 
were  killed,  and  all  the  houses  and  churches  de- 
stroyed. Before  the  town  had  been  rebuilt  came  the 
war,  and  the  insurrectos  burned  all  that  the  earth- 
quake had  left.  This  morning  we  drove  out,  with 
an  escort  of  twenty  men,  to  the  two  towns,  through 
a  jungle  that  was  only  a  short  time  since  cultivated 
fields.  The  insurrectos  are  lively,  and  said  to  be 
within  fifteen  miles  of  town.  Albay  itself  looked 
not  unlike  Pompeii,  for  we  saw  street  after  street 
with  only  the  lower  story  intact  and  the  interior 
walls  standing. 

Beyond  the  ruins  of  Albay,  which  are  already 
beautiful  with  tropical  vines  and  brilliant  flowers, 
lies  Garaga,  a  half-ruined  place,  dominated  by  a 
fine  old  church  and  convento  overlooking  the  town. 
We  drove  in  an  ambulance  accompanied  by  several 
young  officers  and  the  surgeon,  who  amused  them- 
selves by  telling  us  of  hairbreadth  escapes,  and  hint- 
ing that  insurrectos  were  concealed  behind  every 
bush.  At  the  foot  of  the  hill  we  had  to  leave  the 

140 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

ambulance  in  order  to  climb  up  to  the  church.  The 
path  was  narrow,  and  on  either  side  the  impenetrable 
undergrowth  hemmed  us  in.  The  officers  declared 
this  pathway  a  fine  place  for  an  ambush,  and  specu- 
lated what  would  happen  if  the  concealed  insur rectos 
should  really  make  an  attack.  We  suggested  that  the 
presence  of  three  second  lieutenants  precluded  the 
possibility  of  such  an  occurrence,  but  I  must  confess 
I  was  glad  when  we  came  out  on  the  open  plaza  in 
front  of  the  church.  The  fagade  of  this  building  is 
black  and  weatherbeaten,  but  it  is  elaborately  carved 
and  decorated  with  twisted  columns,  and  the  deep 
niches  still  contain  statues  of  saints.  The  old  con- 
vento  is  a  big  rambling  place  in  which  a  few  soldiers 
are  quartered.  From  the  broad  windows  are  ex- 
quisite views  of  the  Bay  of  Albay  and  the  volcano 
of  Mayon.  Below  us  on  the  plain  we  saw  the  top 
of  a  church  tower  standing  up  like  a  sentinel  from  a 
lava  bed.  It  is  all  that  is  left  of  a  buried  town.  All 
over  the  plain  at  the  base  of  Mount  Mayon  are  towns 
hidden  beneath  the  lava  and  ashes.  The  volcano  is 
higher  than  Mount  Vesuvius,  and  a  wreath  of  smoke 
floats  continually  about  its  summit.  The  charm  of 
the  place  and  its  surroundings  is  indescribable.  We 
sat  pensively  in  a  window  overlooking  the  buried 
town,  and  might  have  yielded  to  melancholy 
thoughts  had  not  the  second  lieutenants  broken  in 
upon  them  with  a  dozen  bottles  of  ginger  ale  and  a 
tin  pail  of  ice. 

141 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

We  left  the  place  with  a  friendly  pity  for  the 
friars  who  had  never  known  the  joy  of  owning  an 
ice  plant.  On  our  return  to  Legaspi  we  found  that 
the  preparations  for  our  luncheon  had  been  delayed 
by  an  accident  to  the  young  daughter  of  the  presi- 
dente.  Wishing  to  dress  her  hair  a  la  Americaine, 
she  had  burned  herself  quite  badly.  This  cast  a 
gloom  over  the  party,  but  finally  the  luncheon  was 
served  to  our  great  relief. 

In  the  afternoon,  the  public  meeting  and  the 
provincial  law  palling  on  us,  we  went  out  to  buy 
abaca,  a  pretty  material  made  of  hemp  woven  in 
stripes.  We  find  that  although  our  Filipino  friends 
receive  us  as  brothers,  and  are  overwhelmed  with 
joy  at  our  presence,  they  do  not  hesitate  to  ask 
us  three  prices  for  their  wares.  The  wives  of  the 
principales  beguile  the  pesos  from  our  pockets 
while  our  husbands  are  bestowing  .civil  govern- 
ments with  liberal  hand  on  their  provinces.  It's 
rather  shabby  treatment,  don't  you  think?  And 
what  shall  I  ever  do  with  all  the  stuff  I  have 
bought  ? 

One  feature  of  our  visit  to  Albay  we  have  not 
enjoyed.  The  landing  has  been  most  disagreeable. 
The  bay  is  almost  always  rough,  and,  although  the 
trips  to  and  from  shore  have  been  made  in  a  tug, 
our  launch  being  too  small,  we  were  tossed  about 
and  shaken  up  in  a  decidedly  violent  manner.  At 
the  landing  place  we  had  to  watch  our  chance  and 

142 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

be  hauled  up  by  the  arms,  afraid  we  might  be 
dropped  back  into  the  water. 

We  are  all  safely  on  board  at  last,  and  preparing 
to  lift  the  anchor.  Mount  Mayon  is  majestic  in  the 
evening  light,  when  her  white  wreath  is  touched 
with  the  pink  of  a  reflected  sunset.  The  views  of 
the  mountain  have  been  among  the  chief  pleasures 
of  our  visit  to  Albay.  The  clouds  that  float  about 
the  summit  and  halfway  down  the  flank  are  con- 
stantly changing.  Yesterday  morning  the  mountain 
was  dark  purple,  and  it  rose  from  the  water's  edge 
to  the  summit  distinctly  outlined  against  the  sky, 
with  one  fleecy  cloud  lying  halfway  up  the  side  in 
a  little  hollow.  Last  night  we  saw  it  in  the  light 
of  a  full  moon. 

We  are  starting  for  the  open  sea,  where  the 
waves,  in  their  uninterrupted  sweep  across  the  Pa- 
cific, break  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Luzon.  The 
captain  is  delighted  at  the  prospect,  and  prefers  to 
take  the  longer  way  around  rather  than  trust  to  a 
native  pilot,  who  offered  to  show  a  shorter  way 
through  an  uncharted  strait. 

MANILA,  May  4,  1901. 

WE   came   into   port   this   morning,   and  found 
Manila  hot  and  dusty.     Our  house,  however, 
was  cool,  and  everything  was  ready  for  us,  even  to 
iced  lemonade.     The  latter  part  of  the  trip  after 
leaving  Legaspi   was  trying;  the  weather  became 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

hotter  than  it  had  been,  and  the  daily  round  of  meet- 
ings, banquets,  often  two  in  one  day,  and  balls  were 
exhausting  to  everyone.  We  went  up  to  Nueva 
Caceres,  a  town  of  especial  interest  for  me,  as  I  had 
vivid  memories  of  Vieja  Caceres  in  Spain,  from 
whence  this  little  town,  far  away  in  the  islands  of 
the  sea,  takes  its  name.  We  went  up  the  river  in  a 
launch,  through  a  country  said  to  be  infested  with 
insurrectos.  Several  young  officers,  who  had  come 
down  to  the  Sumner  to  get  us,  filled  our  listening 
ears  with  tales  of  Filipino  treachery,  and  their  ap- 
prehensions lest  our  party  be  shot  at  from  the  river 
bank.  The  launch  was  what  they  call  "  protected  " ; 
that  is,  it  had  a  piece  of  thin  iron  along  the  rail  on 
either  side  about  four  feet  high.  A  sense  of  the 
ridiculous  prevented  me  from  sitting  behind  this  pro- 
tection, and  I  imagine  the  rest  of  the  party  felt  the 
same  way.  I  suggested  to  the  infantile  second  lieu- 
tenant that  the  Filipinos  were  bad  shots,  but  he 
removed  even  that  consolation  by  telling  us  that 
they  put  up  targets  on  the  opposite  river  bank  and 
trained  their  guns  on  them.  When  they  heard  a 
steamer  coming  they  sighted  their  rifles,  and  then 
all  banged  away  as  soon  as  the  vessel  came  into 
range.  This  dampened  my  spirits  for  a  time,  but  as 
the  hours  passed  and  nothing  happened,  I  recovered, 
and  concluded  the  youth  was  "  talking  to  a  civilian," 
as  they  say. 

Three  launches  of  the  Federal  party,  gayly  dec- 
144 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

orated  with  flags,  came  halfway  down  the  river  to 
meet  us.  At  the  landing  were  arches  and  banners 
bearing  mottoes.  One  of  the  arches  bore  the  in- 
scription :  "  Fuera  los  Frailes  " — "  Away  with  the 
friars."  I'll  not  weary  you  with  details.  The  most 
vivid  recollection  of  our  visit  to  Nueva  Caceres  is  the 
trip  down  the  river  by  moonlight.  We  reached  the 
Sunmer  at  three  in  the  morning  just  as  the  full 
moon,  red  as  blood,  was  setting  in  the  sea.  It  was 
a  magnificent  sight. 

Next  came  Sorsogon,  where  the  wife  of  the  presi- 
dente  had  a  fine  "  best  parlor  "  with  twelve  blue 
satin  sofa  pillows  ranged  about  the  room.  They 
were  precisely  alike,  and  all  embroidered  in  pink 
chenille  moss  roses.  The  effect  was  "  grand."  In 
Sorsogon  the  natives  had  something  quite  original 
in  the  way  of  street  decorations.  They  built  towers 
of  bamboo,  decorated  them  gorgeously,  and  placed 
them  on  wheels  and  pulled  them  along  in  a  proces- 
sion. In  one  of  these  edifices  stood  a  young  Fil- 
ipino girl,  who  recited  a  poem  in  honor  of  the 
"  Commission  Civil." 

Then  came  the  charming  little  island  of  Marin- 
duque,  a  paradise,  newly  pacified.  The  Commis- 
sion had  visited  it  six  weeks  previously  and  declined 
to  give  it  civil  government,  as  there  were  a  hundred 
insurrectos  in  the  field.  They  have  all  come  in  now, 
and  instead  of  a  squad  of  soldiers  welcoming  us  on 
shore,  as  was  the  case  before,  a  band  of  small  natives 

145 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

in  short  gauze  shirts  were  ranged  along  the  road- 
way calling  out  "  Good  morning,"  and  singing 
"  America." 

Finally,  Batangas,  our  last  stopping  place,  was 
reached,  and  a  bad  sort  of  a  place  it  was,  too.  The 
people  of  this  province  are  apparently  irreconcilable. 
The  night  of  our  arrival  the  town  was  fired  on,  and 
the  Commission  telegraphed  to  Manila  for  further 
information  as  to  the  state  of  affairs,  reporting  that 
in  their  opinion  Batangas  was  not  ready  for  civil 
government. 

And  so  it  came  to  an  end — the  "  Southern  Trip," 
as  it  is  called.  It  was  an  interesting  experience,  both 
for  ,us  and  for  the  islanders.  I  am  sure  a  great 
many  Filipinos  now  know  something  of  what  the 
United  States  Government  intends  to  do  for  them, 
and  are  convinced  that  the  Americans,  after  the 
fighting  is  over,  will  give  them  a  government  in 
which  they  may  be  active  participants.  Of  course, 
the  great  mass  of  the  people  neither  know  nor  care 
what  is  being  done.  As  for  us,  we  shall  never  for- 
get the  warm  welcome  we  received  everywhere,  and 
the  interesting  scenes  we  visited.  It  was  the  event 
of  a  lifetime. 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 


VI 

•  "         i 

MANILA    SOCIETY 

MANILA,  May  15,  igoi. 

/CIVILIZATION  and  the  civilized  are  a  bit  slow 
^-x  after  the  experiences  of  the  past  weeks.  Not 
that  we  are  dull,  but  there  is  not  the  pleasant  antici- 
pation of  waking  up  in  a  new  place  each  morning, 
and  the  wild  tribes  and  Moros  are  certainly  more 
picturesque  than  the  Europeanized  overclad  natives 
of  Manila.  However,  there  are  always  new  experi- 
ences even  in  Manila.  There  is  the  usual  round  of 
official  and  army  dinners  and  receptions;  but  they 
are  all  more  or  less  alike,  so  when  we  received  an 
invitation  from  Don  Tomas  to  breakfast  with  him 
last  Sunday  I  accepted  with  alacrity.  I  find  that  I 
miss  sweet  peppers,  chile  con  came,  and  various 
other  native  dishes  I  learned  to  like  on  the  southern 
trip.  Our  American  menu  lacks  "  color." 

Last  Sunday  was  hot  even  for  Manila,  and  our 
house,  open  to  the  breeze  as  it  is,  was  an  ice  chest 
in  comparison  with  the  cam  in  Santa  Cruz.  I  went 
to  church  in  the  morning  feeling  that  the  spiritual 
part  of  me  would  need  fortifying,  but  I  was  obliged 

147 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

to  listen  to  a  sermon  by  a  zealous  young  man  lately 
arrived,  who  directed  his  remarks  to  the  Commis- 
sion and  their  policy,  accusing  them  of  staying  away 
from  church  for  political  reasons.  He  warned  them 
that  the  very  ones  they  were  trying  to  conciliate  by 
this  action,  the  Roman  Catholics,  would  turn  and 
rend  them  if  occasion  offered.  He  drew  a  touching 
picture  of  the  early  influences  that  had  surrounded 
the  members  of  the  Commission  and  their  church- 
going  habits  in  America,  and  lamented  that  in  this 
foreign  land,  where  they  were  trying  to  build  up 
American  institutions,  they  had  become  backsliders 
through  a  sincere  but  mistaken  idea  that  they  were 
thereby  showing  the  natives  they  were  unbiased  in 
religious  matters.  Although  I  felt  I  was  the  target 
of  all  these  remarks,  as  the  only  one  present  even 
remotely  connected  with  the  offenders,  there  was 
something  irresistibly  funny  in  the  elaborate  scheme 
worked  up  by  the  estimable  young  man  to  explain 
the  absence  of  five  overworked  men  from  religious 
service  on  hot  Sunday  mornings,  when  even  the 
bamboo  did  not  rustle  and  the  banana  leaves 
drooped  in  the  scorching  air.  I  felt  less  conscious 
and  more  cheerful  when  he  turned  his  attention  to 
the  ladies  who  spent  all  their  mornings  playing 
cards  and  neglected  such  opportunities  for  their 
benevolent  activities  as  the  hospital  and  the  "  Manila 
Aid  "  offered.  I  concluded  the  heat  had  got  on  the 
young  man's  nerves.  I,  at  least,  give  up  but  one 

148 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

morning  a  week  to  cards,  and  so  was  not  included 
in  that  list. 

Don  Tomas  lives  in  Santa  Cruz,  on  the  other  side 
of  the  river,  crowded  and  shut  in  by  tall  houses. 
The  pavements  were  baking  hot  as  we  drove  to  the 
breakfast,  and  waves  of  hot  air  quivered  up  through 
the  narrow  streets.  The  house  was  dark,  and  after 
the  glare  and  heat  outside  comparatively  comfort- 
able. The  affair  was  what  is  called  in  polite  society 
an  obsequio  in  honor  of  the  doctor  and  his  wife,  a 
word  which  always  suggests  a  funeral  to  my  mind. 
As  the  guests  thus  honored  were  about  to  leave  us 
for  an  army  post  in  the  wilds  of  Samar,  the  obsequio 
seemed  almost  sinister  in  its  suggestion.  However, 
that  was  my  obsession,  and  the  others  were  happy 
to  say  that  the  word  called  up  no  such  suggestions 
to  their  minds.  The  rooms  were  already  filled  with 
guests,  many  of  them  known  to  us,  and  we  were 
immediately  surrounded  and  embraced  by  fluttering 
gauzy  arms.  A  sprinkling  of  officers  lately  in  the 
service  of  General  Aguinaldo  gave  a  certain  interest 
to  the  masculine  contingent,  but  the  mild-eyed  and 
soft-voiced  youths  who  carried  the  imposing  titles 
of  "  General,"  "  Colonel,"  and  "  Major  "  seemed 
quite  shorn  of  any  warlike  fierceness  they  may  once 
have  possessed.  Our  host  presented  a  basket  of 
flowers  to  each  of  us,  and  after  many  greetings  we 
went  out  to  the  dining  room  which  opened  on  a 
little  shady  patio,  where  a  banana  tree  sheltered 

149 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

some  ducks  and  several  lordly  turkeys.  I  sat  by 
Don  Tomas  and  General  Montenegro,  who  re- 
minded me  of  a  Japanese.  He  mentioned  meeting 
my  sister,  whose  "  intellectual  conversation  "  he  had 
found  most  "  entrancing." 

The  breakfast  was  good,  very  good.  The  fish 
was  a  joy  to  look  at  and  a  delight  to  eat,  all  gar- 
nished with  tiny  rounds  of  silver  onions  and  bits  of 
ginger  root,  and  gay  with  my  favorite  pimientos 
dukes.  The  turkey,  however,  bore  off  the  honors; 
fat  as  butter,  well  cooked,  of  fine  flavor,  a  brother 
to  the  pair  under  the  banana  in  the  patio.  On  my 
remarking  its  juicy  flavor,  Don  Tomas  said  it  had 
been  killed  by  the  cook  the  night  before,  in  a  manner 
peculiar  to  himself,  by  pouring  brandy  down  its 
throat  until  it  died.  I  was  glad  I  had  finished  the 
last  delectable  bit  of  breast  on  my  plate  before  hear- 
ing this  culinary  secret.  The  ice  cream  was  a 
gorgeous  architectural  construction,  and  the  sweets 
without  number.  After  administering  thus  to  our 
material  needs,  Don  Tomas  had  prepared  a  little 
musical  entertainment,  but  first  we  were  mercifully 
permitted  a  half-hour  siesta  on  a  cool  bamboo  bed. 
The  variety  in  the  powder  boxes  at  the  disposal  of 
the  ladies  always  strikes  me  at  Filipino  entertain- 
ments. Of  glass,  porcelain,  silver  or  gold,  their 
number  is  legion,  and  the  powder  market  of  Paris 
must  certainly  count  on  the  demand  in  the  Philip- 
pines. Thickly  laid  over  the  dark  olive  skin  of  the 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

native  belle,  it  gives  her  complexion  a  heliotrope 
tint  that  is  weird  indeed  until  one  becomes  accus- 
tomed to  it. 

After  the  siesta  an  orchestra  of  girls  with  man- 
dolins, guitars,  and  a  harp  played  waltzes  and  well- 
known  ragtime  airs,  picked  up  from  the  soldiers. 
One  pretty  little  girl  was  a  picturesque  figure  in  a 
green  skirt  with  pink  camisa  and  panuela  swaying 
toward  her  gilded  harp.  She  sang  "  Just  One  Girl  " 
over  and  over  again  in  response  to  repeated  encores 
from  the  assembled  gentlemen.  Her  voice  was  not 
so  nasal  as  the  native  voice  usually  is,  and  her  ac- 
cent lent  a  charm  to  the  absurd  words.  At  four 
o'clock  the  rooms  were  cleared  and  dancing  began, 
and  at  half  past  the  hour  we  departed  amidst  the 
lamentations  and  remonstrances  with  which  a  polite 
host  always  overwhelms  the  parting  guest. 

As  penance  for  my  attendance  on  a  Sunday  dance 
I  took  Auria  at  dusk  to  the  Augustinians,  where 
there  was  a  procession.  The  church  was  wonder- 
fully beautiful,  lighted  by  thousands  of  candles. 
Over  the  altar  was  a  theatrical  arrangement  of 
clouds,  angels'  heads,  and  Santa  Rita  kneeling  in 
the  center.  It  was  lighted  by  invisible  electric  lights, 
and  looked,  as  Auria  said,  like  a  big  valentine.  The 
statue  was  dressed  with  much  magnificence  in  gold- 
embroidered  velvet.  The  diamonds  were  gorgeous, 
consisting  of  a  tiara,  a  necklace,  and  rings  without 
number.  It  was  carried  in  the  procession  on  a  solid 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

silver  standard  some  five  feet  in  diameter,  beauti- 
fully dressed  with  flowers.  The  figure  of  the  saint 
was  not  well  carved,  however,  and  her  face  was 
whitewashed.  There  were  more  pretty  Spanish 
girls  and  handsome  women  than  one  generally  sees 
gathered  together.  Padre  Izar  had  arranged  that 
we  should  go  into  the  cloisters  with  the  procession, 
so  when  it  had  almost  passed  we  joined  the  ranks. 
Men,  women,  and  children  all  carried  candles,  and 
a  very  nice-looking  woman,  seeing  Auria  without 
one,  handed  her  a  light.  This  was  a  great  delight 
to  Auria,  who  marched  along  like  a  little  saint  her- 
self. The  sight  was  fascinating  as  the  procession 
wound  about  the  cloisters  which  surround  a  big 
square  patio.  The  silver  stand,  twinkling  with  can- 
dles and  gay  with  pink  flowers,  was  borne  aloft  on 
the  shoulders  of  white-robed  friars,  and  behind  her 
followed  the  clergy  arrayed  in  golden  and  brocade 
vestments,  with  musicians  and  altar  boys.  It  is 
astonishing  how  many  beautiful  jewels  the  saints 
wear.  When  we  returned  home  some  one  was  ques- 
tioning if  they  were  real,  when  Auria  said  reproach- 
fully :  "  You  don't  think  they  would  put  false  dia- 
monds on  their  Holy  Mary,  do  you  ?  " 

This  .has  been  a  very  busy  week.  Three  dinners 
and  two  luncheons,  besides  a  dinner  we  gave  on 
Friday.  All  of  them  were  army  or  civilian  affairs, 
and  were  more  or  less  stereotyped  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  one  we  attended  last  night — a  Filipino 

152 


AN    OFFICIAL'S   WIFE 

affair.  It  was  at  the  house  of  the  father-in-law  of 
one  of  the  "  greatest  of  Filipino  politicians."  The 
latest  excitement  in  Manila  society  is  this  latter  gen- 
tleman's conversion  to  the  Methodist  faith.  His 
enemies  make  all  manner  of  fun,  and  call  it  a  po- 
litical move.  The  religious  members  of  his  family, 
one  of  his  daughters  especially,  mourn  him  as  a  lost 
soul,  the  others  amuse  themselves  at  his  expense. 
His  vivacious  little  sister-in-law  remarked  last  night 
at  dinner :  "  Miguel  does  not  know  that  the  Ameri- 
cans neither  care  nor  ask  if  a  man  be  a  Catholic  or 
Protestant."  An  insurrecto  officer  who  ordered 
eight  American  soldiers  shot  in  the  Apalit  district 
was  at  dinner.  It  has  been  reported  that  he  is  a 
monster  of  cruelty  and  ferocity.  He  is  a  small 
meek-looking  man,  not  in  the  least  one's  ideal  of  a 
monster,  or  even  a  soldier.  One  of  our  party  said 
he  seemed  feeble-minded,  but  the  doctor's  wife 
thought  he  had  a  sinister  look.  He  has  been  in 
Europe,  and  speaks  French  and  Spanish  well,  but 
talks  little.  The  family  of  our  host  have  been  rather 
reticent  regarding  their  relations  to  the  insurrecto 
leaders,  but  I  noticed  the  old  grandmother,  who 
came  into  the  drawing  room  after  dinner,  called 
him  "  Pepe,"  and  patted  him  affectionately  on  the 
back.  I  imagine  they  know  him  better  than  they  are 
willing  to  acknowledge. 


153 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

June  12,  1901. 

I  SPENT  Wednesday  evening  at  the  Alcaldes,  a 
family  well  known  in  exclusive  anti-American 
circles,  who  belong  to  the  irreconcilables.  A  Span- 
ish friend  took  me  there,  hoping,  as  he  said,  that 
they  might  see  the  American  ladies  were  "  muy  sim- 
paticas."  I  did  my  best  to  be  "  simpatica,"  and  in- 
cidentally had  a  most  amusing  evening.  The  father 
of  the  family  is  dead;  the  mother,  a  lady  of  "  great 
talents,"  is  an  artist,  and  the  house  is  crowded  with 
specimens  of  her  work.  Not  only  are  the  walls 
hung  with  oil  paintings  in  gilt  frames,  but  they  are 
decorated  with  trailing  vines  and  sylvan  scenes. 
The  mirrors  are  trellised  with  dogwood  blossoms  in 
oil.  Plush  palettes  and  screens  are  covered  with 
roses,  and  the  chair  backs  and  table  legs  have  not 
escaped  her  hand.  The  lady  has  a  photographic  tal- 
ent for  likenesses,  and  the  paintings  in  the  gilt 
frames  are  all  most  weirdly  lifelike  portraits  of  dif- 
ferent members  of  the  family,  including  several  of 
herself.  Her  taste  inclines  to  the  primitive  colors. 
Yellow,  red,  and  blue  predominate,  and  the  outlines 
of  her  figures  suggest  wood  carving. 

My  attempts  to  be  "  simpatica  "  seemed  crowned 
by  success,  for  later  in  the  evening  the  lady  beckoned 
me  mysteriously  from  a  doorway  and  led  me  to  her 
inner  sanctum,  where  she  showed  me  works  in  the 
process  of  making,  and  a  series  of  early  attempts 
before  she  became  a  verdadera  professora,  or  real 

154 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

artist.  Besides  the  artistic  mother  there  were  two 
musical  daughters,  one  who  played  the  piano  and 
another  who  sang.  The  company  embraced,  among 
others,  a  melancholy  Spaniard  stranded  in  Manila, 
a  poet  with  long  hair,  who  recited  a  canto  of  an 
unpublished  epic,  and  a  virtuoso  on  the  violin.  My 
escort  and  I  were  the  only  ones  there  who  were 
without  talent.  The  supper  was  truly  Bohemian, 
served  on  the  azotea,  or  roof,  dining  room.  The 
table  was  covered  with  a  confused  mass  of  bottles, 
cold  meats,  and  sweets.  We  were  served  by  slip- 
shod "  boys  "  in  short  trousers  and  undershirts,  and 
unkempt  little  girls  whose  low-necked  camisa  kept 
falling  off  their  shoulders,  exposing  nice  round 
arms.  One  can  never  forget  the  motion  of  a  Fil- 
ipina  girl's  shoulder  as  she  hitches  up  her  camisa 
sleeve.  Ham  sandwiches  and  orange  marmalade 
were  served  with  sweet  champagne  and  pink  sugar 
cakes.  We  remained  till  twelve  o'clock,  and  went 
home  in  a  pouring  rain.  I  am  assured  by  the  know- 
ing ones  that  I  am  at  last  in  "  real  society,"  but  I 
could  not  see  they  were  very  different  from  the  rest 
of  Manila,  only  a  bit  whiter  perhaps. 

July  3,  1901. 

f  AST  evening  there  was  a  brilliant  reception 
*-*  to  the  departing  commanding  general  at  the 
Army  and  Navy  Club.  Everyone  in  town  was 
there,  and  many  of  the  ladies  were  in  new  gowns. 
11  155 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

The  newly  arrived  army  women  were  in  evidence, 
their  up-to-date  sleeves  and  dainty  evening  fabrics 
filling  us  colonials  with  envy,  but  later  in  the  even- 
ing I  had  reason  to  be  glad  that  I  had  worn  an  an- 
cient jusi.  The  floors  had  recently  been  cleaned  with 
kerosene  oil,  but  enough  had  been  left  in  the  cracks 
and  hollows  of  the  floor  to  ruin  fresh  ruffles  and 
dainty  silk  petticoats.  There  were  crowds  of  army 
officers  and  a  sprinkling  of  civilians,  and  more  gen- 
erals than  one  often  sees  gathered  in  one  place.  One 
of  the  finest-looking  officers  is  the  head  of  the  signal 
corps,  a  big  man  with  gray  hair  and  beard  and  fine 
eyes.  He  is  a  contrast  in  size  to  the  little  general 
who  captured  Aguinaldo.  The  popular  brigadier 
who  came  out  to  the  Philippines  a  first  lieutenant  in 
the  regular  army,  and  is  sure  to  get  his  volunteer- 
general's  appointment  confirmed,  was  there,  besides 
many  others  less  well  known. 

The  supper  was  a  brilliant  achievement  in  this 
land  of  tinned  lobster.  It  was  under  the  manage- 
ment of  the  quartermaster's  department.  We  sat  in 
the  seats  of  the  mighty  with  generals  and  major 
generals.  The  departing  military  governor  has  a 
neat  little  talent  for  sarcasm.  One  of  our  party,  a 
lady  of  gracious  manner,  exclaimed,  as  we  were 
leaving  the  table :  "  Well,  general,  so  you  are  really 
going  away.  I  can't  tell  you  how  sorry  we  are.  It 
is  a  shame  for  you  to  leave  us."  The  general  bowed 
low,  and  then  said  quite  slowly  and  distinctly,  so  that 

156   ' 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

all  at  the  table  heard  him :  "  Thank  you,  madam,  it 
is  always  flattering  to  hear  such  things,  even  when 
they  are  said  for  politeness  only,  but  when  one 
knows  that  they  come  from  the  heart  it  is  doubly 
pleasant."  That  was  not  so  bad,  considering  the 
general's  well-known  feeling  toward  the  Commis- 
sion. 

July  4,  1901. 

JUDGE  TAFT  was  inaugurated  Civil  Governor 
of  the  Philippine  Islands  to-day.  The  ceremony 
took  place  in  the  morning  on  the  plaza  facing  the 
Ayuntamiento.  A  platform  had  been  erected  on  the 
massive  stone  foundations  of  the  "  New  Palace," 
which  have  been  laid  many  years.  I  have  been  told 
that  the  money  for  the  erection  of  this  building  was 
voted  and  paid  by  the  Spanish  Government,  but  that 
it  was  appropriated  by  the  officials  in  charge  of  the 
work,  and  that  in  Madrid  in  the  archives  one  may 
see  a  picture  of  the  finished  building  and  a  descrip- 
tion of  it  representing  it  as  completed.  The  build- 
ing, however,  was  never  erected  except  on  paper. 
The  plaza  is  a  cool,  green  square,  with  a  fountain 
and  large  trees-.  On  one  side  stands  the  cathedral ; 
opposite  it  is  a  row  of  Spanish  houses.  On  the 
third  side  is  the  Ayuntamiento,  or  City  Hall. 

The  participants  in  the  day's  ceremonies  gathered 
in  the  Ayuntamiento.  On  the  platform  three  hun- 
dred seats  were  reserved  for  those  whose  position 

157 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

in  the  government  and  in  the  army  and  navy  entitled 
them  and  their  families  to  places.  There  was  no  end 
of  trouble  over  these  reserved  seats.  No  sooner  was 
I  seated  than  all  around  me  I  heard  complaints : 
"  Well,  how  did  she  ever  get  a  ticket,  when  poor 

Mrs.  had  to  stay  at  home  because  she  would 

not  stand  on  the  street  like  a  native  ?  "  "I  should 
think  those  civil-government  people  would  know 
better ! "  "  Well,  what  can  you  expect  from 
civilians  ? "  And  from  another  quarter :  "  One 
would  know  the  army  had  managed  this  affair." 
"  Will  you  look  at  all  those  second  lieutenants' 
wives  in  the  front  row,  and  Mrs.  Blank,  whose  hus- 
band is  head  of  the Bureau,  down  there  in  the 

sun !  "  The  first  row  of  seats  near  the  grand  stand 
was  reserved  for  the  families  of  the  governor,  the 
commanding  general,  the  Commissioners,  and  in- 
vited guests.  The  seats  were  not  numbered,  and 
many  of  those  entitled  to  seats  had  brought  guests, 
and  others  had  taken  possession  of  them  without 
title,  so  when  I  arrived  the  front  row  was  well  filled, 
and  neither  the  families  of  the  new  commanding 
general  nor  the  governor  had  arrived. 

I  found  a  place  in  the  second  row,  where  I  was 
surrounded  by  small  children  and  the  second  lieu- 
tenants' wives  so  scornfully  referred  to  by  a  "  civil- 
ian lady."  The  arrival  of  another  official's  wife, 
who  did  not  wish  a  back  seat,  made  a  readjustment 
of  chairs  necessary,  and  a  row  was  placed  in  front 

158 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

of  the  first  row.  This  was  again  almost  immedi- 
ately filled  by  those  who  belonged  there  and  several 
who  did  not.  I  declined  to  change  my  seat  to  the 
front  row,  as  I  was  quite  comfortable  and  out  of 
the  sun,  but  there  was  a  good  half  hour  passed  in 
getting  the  right  persons  in  their  proper  places.  No 
one  seemed  to  realize  that  the  wife  of  the  principal 
figure  in  the  day's  ceremonies  would,  on  her  arrival, 
be  obliged  to  sit  on  the  railing  or  take  a  back  seat. 
When  she  finally  arrived,  there  was  another  scurry 
for  seats  by  the  long-suffering  officers  acting  as  ush- 
ers, and  it  was  a  miracle  how  two  more  chairs  were 
squeezed  in  at  the  top  of  the  first  row.  I  felt  that 
the  civilians  might  truly  say  that  the  army  should 
have  arranged  things  a  little  better,  for  they  were 
in  charge  of  the  ceremonies,  and  are  supposed  to 
understand  that  bugbear  "  rank."  At  the  same  time 
it  was  partly  the  fault  of  the  women,  who  wanted 
to  sit  in  the  front  row  whether  they  belonged  there 
or  not.  A  democratic  society  when  the  idea  of 
rank  and  precedence  first  dawns  upon  it  is  likely  to 
run  into  all  manner  of  pitfalls,  for  very  seldom  do 
all  its  members  remember  their  proper  places  all  the 
time.  Rank  not  being  part  of  their  inheritance,  their 
native  Americanism  causes  them  to  forget  it  at 
times  when  they  ought  to  remember  it,  and  to  re- 
member it  when  it  would  be  just  as  well  to  ignore 
it.  Those  who  occupy  the  lesser  positions  are,  as  a 
rule,  the  most  sensitive  on  the  subject. 

159 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

By  the  time  the  ladies  were  all  settled  the  proces- 
sion had  started  from  the  Ayuntamiento  across  the 
way,  heralded  by  a  blast  of  trumpets.  The  plaza 
was  crowded  with  Filipinos  and  American  soldiers, 
who,  I  noticed,  seemed  more  enthusiastic  over  the 
inauguration  of  the  civil  governor  than  the  officers. 
Across  the  broad  central  path  of  the  plaza  the  pro- 
cession passed,  the  Americans  in  white  duck  suits, 
the  Filipinos  and  Europeans  in  black.  It  was  cer- 
tainly a  sight  to  remember.  First  came  the  "  diplo- 
matic corps,"  as  some  one  called  them,  in  array 
more  or  less  gorgeous,  as  business  had  been  dull  or 
lively  during  the  year,  for  the  "  diplomatic  corps  " 
consists  principally  of  merchants  of  Manila  acting 
as  consuls  or  agents  of  foreign  governments,  very 
few  of  them  being  natives  of  the  country  they  repre- 
sent. The  consul  for  Spain,  however,  is  a  Spaniard, 
and  he  headed  the  corps  in  a  uniform  gorgeous  with 
brass  buttons  and  gold  lace.  He  had  a  proud  and 
haughty  air.  Behind  him  came  the  German  consul 
in  a  duck  suit  not  quite  immaculate,  belted  in  so 
tightly  that  he  recalled  the  traditional  pillow  with 
a  string  tied  about  the  middle,  but  on  his  broad 
breast  glittered  seven  medals,  and  a  black  cocked 
hat  made  him  almost  as  imposing  a  figure  as  the 
Spanish  consul.  The  representatives  of  countries 
less  conspicuous  wore  everyday  clothes,  but  the  Chi- 
nese consul,  in  bell  hat  and  button  and  yellow  silk 
robe,  lent  a  picturesque  note  to  the  corps,  while  the 

1 60 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 
French   consul   was   in   full  evening  dress.     There 

« 

seemed  little  esprit  de  corps  among  them.  They  did 
not  pretend  to  march  two  by  two,  or  even  in  single 
file,  but  flocked  along  anyhow  after  the  Spanish  con- 
sul. The  second  division  of  the  procession  con- 
sisted of  the  representatives  of  justice  in  the  Philip- 
pines, and  was  headed  by  the  chief  justice  of  the 
Islands,  who  was  appropriately  dressed  in  a  robe. 
As  for  the  judges,  they  wore  the  traditional  black 
frock  coat  of  the  variety  one  recognizes  as  oriental, 
with  a  collection  of  tall  hats,  including  the  opera 
style,  I  have  not  seen  equaled  since  I  left  Japan. 

Then  hearty  cheers  arose  from  the  crowds  around 
the  plaza,  from  Americans  and  Filipinos  alike.  The 
contrast  between  the  Americans  and  foreigners  was 
especially  marked  by  their  simple  dress  and  their 
martial  bearing.  First  came  General  McArthur 
with  Judge  Taft,  followed  by  General  Chaffee.  Be- 
hind them,  two  by  two,  the  four  civil  Commission- 
ers, and  then  a  long  line  of  colonels  and  majors  com- 
prising all  the  staff  officers  in  Manila.  It  was  a  fine 
sight.  They  were  all  tall  and  straight,  keeping  time 
and  marching  in  a  straight  line.  The  white  duck 
uniform  with  brass  buttons  is  becoming  to  most 
men.  General  McArthur  introduced  Judge  Taft 
without  any  special  ceremony.  Judge  Arellano  ad- 
ministered the  oath  of  office,  and  then  Governor 
Taft  made  his  inaugural  address.  It  was  to  the 
point,  and  not  too  long. 

161 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

The  procession  returned  to  the  Ayuntamiento 
after  the  inauguration,  where  they  entered  carriages 
and  escorted  General  McArthur  to  the  office  of  the 
captain  of  the  port,  where  he  embarked  in  a  launch 
for  the  transport.  El  Senor  drove  with  Judge  Ide 
in  his  carriage,  but  Lorenzo  and  Luis  had  not  spent 
half  the  night  polishing  our  carriage  and  harness 
for  nothing,  so  when  they  saw  el  Senor  enter  Judge 
Ide's  carriage,  instead  of  waiting  for  us,  they 
whirled  into  line,  and  so  were  not  cheated  out  of 
the  glory  of  being  in  the  procession.  Fraulein,  in 
her  quaint  German  way,  remarked  that  the  empty 
victoria  looked  "  noble."  We  remained  at  the 
Ayuntamiento  till  the  company  returned,  and  then 
went  into  the  big  reception  hall  to  shake  hands  with, 
and  congratulate,  the  governor  and  the  new  com- 
manding general. 

Governor  Taft  is  now  the  highest  official  in  the 
Philippine  Islands,  and  takes  precedence  of  the  mil- 
itary authorities.  The  governor  will  move  at  once 
into  the  Malacanan,  the  residence  of  the  Spanish 
governor  general,  where  General  McArthur  has 
been  living.  It  is  a  tumble-down  moldy  old  place, 
and  must  soon  be  put  in  order  to  keep  it  standing. 
Its  name  of  palace  is  rather  farfetched.  The  com- 
manding general  will  occupy  the  Taft  house. 


162 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

July  15,  1901. 

SATURDAY  evening-  one  of  our  friends,  a  young 
civil  employee,  was  married  to  a  mestiza,  a 
pretty  girl  with  a  mother,  half-a-dozen  sisters,  and 
two  aunts,  all  impecunious.  "  Poor  Mr.  Hunt !  " 
we  all  say,  but  he  is  happy,  so  why  should  we  pity 
him?  According  to  one  of  his  chums,  who  has 
boarded  in  the  same  house  with  Mr.  Hunt,  the  court- 
ing has  not  been  unalloyed  bliss,  for  the  family  has 
never  allowed  him  to  see  the  girl  alone.  Even  when 
they  go  out  walking  the  two  aunts  have  always  ac- 
companied them,  and  generally  several  of  the  small 
sisters,  making  quite  a  procession  led  by  Hunt  and 
his  fiancee.  The  friend  is  something  of  a  tease,  and 
he  delighted  in  timing  his  promenades  to  meet 
Hunt,  his  betrothed,  and  the  aunts  and  small  sisters, 
and  then  demanding  later  what  religious  procession 
Hunt  had  been  leading  through  the  streets  of 
Manila. 

Auria  and  I  were  invited  to  the  ceremony.  We 
reached  the  big  Dominican  church  at  the  appointed 
time,  but  instead  of  a  bright  interior  it  was  quite 
unilluminated,  only  half-a-dozen  candles  glimmering 
faintly  from  the  altar  through  the  dusky  aisles. 
Every  time  I  enter  a  Catholic  church  in  Manila  I 
am  impressed  with  its  beauty.  The  proportions  are 
fine.  The  decorations  are  not  gaudy,  and  there  is  a 
certain  religious  atmosphere  that  is  lacking  in  many 
of  the  European  and  almost  all  .our  own  Catholic 

163 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

churches.  We  waited  a  long  time,  surmising  all 
sorts  of  accidents  to  the  bridal  party.  Small  brown 
choir  boys  ran  about  constantly,  reminding  one  of 
acrobats  as  they  doubled  themselves  up  like  jack- 
knives,  never  pausing  in  their  trot,  each  time  they 
passed  the  altar.  Quite  an  hour  after  the  time  set 
for  the  ceremony,  the  bride  and  groom,  followed  by 
the  family,  aunts,  small  sisters,  and  half-a-dozen 
friends,  stumbled  into  the  darkness,  and  groped 
their  way  across  the  church  to  the  sacristy,  where 
they  were  to  be  married,  on  account  of  some  taint  of 
heresy  on  the  part  of  Hunt,  I  suppose,  although  he 
became  a  Catholic  last  week,  according  to  his  scoff- 
ing friend.  We  followed  the  procession  into  the 
dark  sacristy.  There  was  a  hurry  and  a  scurry  of 
small  boys  to  light  the  candles,  and  it  was  ten  min- 
utes before  everything  was  ready.  Hunt  was  nerv- 
ous, and  wiped  his  perspiring  brow  continually,  for 
it  was  a  hot  evening,  and  the  darkness,  delay,  and 
confusion  were  anything  but  soothing.  It  is  re- 
ported that  he  had  to  pay  for  the  candles,  although 
they  were  not  lighted  when  they  should  have  been, 
and  that  the  unburned  ends  are  a  perquisite  of  some 
one  of  the  various  church  officials;  hence  the  delay 
in  lighting  them. 

At  last  the  signal  to  begin  the  ceremony  was 
given.  A  wheel  of  bells  was  violently  whirled 
around  by  a  small  boy,  a  weak  organ  piped  forth  a 
monotonous  march,  and  a  wreath  of  electric  lights 

164 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

around  the  altar  was  turned  on ;  and  then  the  blue 
silk  curtain  before  the  altar  was  drawn,  displaying 
painted  statues  of  the  Virgin  and  St.  John  hand- 
somely dressed  in  velvet,  surrounded  by  a  halo  of 
angels'  heads  peeping  over  silver  clouds.  Three 
priests  marched  in  from  an  adjoining  room,  and  the 
bride  and  groom,  accompanied  by  the  family,  went 
within  the  railing.  The  ceremony  was  performed 
at  a  tremendous  rate  of  speed  by  a  mumbling  priest. 
A  piece  of  money,  which  Hunt  had  forgotten,  played 
a  mysterious  part  in  the  ceremony.  A  small  boy 
was  sent  to  fetch  it,  which  caused  a  most  embar- 
rassing delay.  I  asked  the  meaning  of  the  money, 
but  no  one  could  tell  me  its  significance.  It  was 
handed  to  the  officiating  priest,  who  blessed  it  and 
passed  it  to  his  assistant,  and  we  were  left  to  guess 
if  it  were  the  wedding  fee  demanded  at  a  point  in 
the  ceremony  where  Hunt  must  produce  it  or  not  be 
married — this  was  the  suggestion  of  the  scoffing 
friend — or  if  it  were  the  symbol  of  earthly  goods 
with  which  Hunt  was  to  endow  the  bride,  her  aunts, 
and  small  sisters.  That  it  might  be  a  survival  of 
the  time  when  grooms  bought  their  brides  with  gold 
was  the  suggestion  of  our  learned  secretary. 

The  bride  did  not  remove  her  veil  after  the  cere- 
mony, and  was  kissed  through  the  lace.  We  con- 
gratulated the  groom,  who  looked  unhappy,  as  all 
men  do  on  such  occasions,  "  but  not  as  unhappy  as 
he  will  feel  later,"  remarked  his  best  man. 

165 


July  30,  1901. 

WE  have  been  occupied  making  calls  on  the  new- 
comers during  the  last  week.  It  is  interesting 
to  renew  one's  first  impressions  with  the  recent  ar- 
rivals. Among  the  passing  crowd  were  two  "  lit- 
erary lights  "  on  their  way  around  the  world — a 
writer  and  his  wife,  the  latter  a  lecturer,  I  believe. 
One  of  the  Commissioners  tells  me  some  remarkable 
tales  about  them.  They  have  made  it  unpleasant  for 
him  by  insisting  that  he  shall  give  them  a  series 
of  his  photographs  to  illustrate  their  lectures.  They 
did  not  take  one  or  two  refusals,  and  succeeded 
eventually  by  their  persistence  in  forcing  him  to 
give  them  a  number.  We  met  these  celebrities  at 
dinner.  They  belonged  to  the  "  eager-anxious-to- 
be-in-everything "  type,  whose  existence  one  has 
forgotten  in  the  placid  Philippines. 

At  a  large  reception  Fraulein  was  amused  to  hear 
them  asking  for  introductions  "  to  all  the  noted  per- 
sons present."  As  there  are  eight  generals  in  town 
this  week,  they  succeeded  in  adding  numberless 
names  to  their  autograph  collection.  The  way  in 
which  "  famous  names  "  were  obtained  at  the  recep- 
tion lessened  the  impression  they  had  made  on  me 
at  the  dinner,  when  the  lady  proudly  displayed  the 
signatures  of  "  distinguished  persons  she  had 
known."  Isn't  it  strange  how  some  persons  amuse 
themselves  ? 


1 66 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

MANILA,  August  i,  1901. 

A^ESTERDAY  the  governor  gave  his  third  re- 
JL  ception  at  the  Malacanan.  The  living  room  is 
surrounded  by  a  broad-tiled  veranda,  which  forms 
one  of  the  features — in  fact,  I  should  say  the  feature 
— of  the  "  palace."  It  is  always  cool,  and  there  are 
exquisite  views  up  and  down  the  river.  Guests  be- 
gin to  arrive  about  half-past  five.  I  poured  tea 
yesterday  afternoon,  and  I  enjoyed  watching  the 
various  persons  who  called.  It  is  a  very  well- 
dressed  crowd,  but  with  no  uniformity  in  the  style 
of  its  costumes.  One  of  the  first  to  come  yesterday 
was  Senor  Legarda,  who  has  been  appointed  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Commission.  He  brought  with  him  his 
daughter-in-law,  who  has  just  returned  from  Paris. 
She  wore  an  exquisite  black  brocade  gown  embroid- 
ered in  jet,  and  a  hat  that  one  had  only  to  see  to 
know  where  it  was  made.  Her  husband,  whom 
Senor  Legarda  referred  to  as  "  fat,  isn't  he?  "  needs 
no  further  characterization,  for  that  was  all  there  was 
to  say.  Behind  this  family  group  came  several  Amer- 
ican ladies  in  organdies  and  muslins,  followed  by  a 
Spanish  mestiza  dressed  in  a  thick  brown  cashmere 
gown  with  a  silk  front,  looking  perfectly  cool  and 
serene.  A  crowd  of  girls  in  low-necked  jusis, 
dressed  for  the  Fifth  Cavalry  ball,  attracted  one.  It 
is  quite  the  thing  to  come  to  an  afternoon  reception 
in  a  low-necked  dress;  even  women  of  advanced 
age  wear  them.  Yesterday  the  Filipinos  were  out 

167 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

in  large  numbers.  The  Garcia  girls  were  in  evi- 
dence as  usual.  Their  little  thin  hands  flutter  in 
yours  for  an  instant,  you  see  their  clear  soft  eyes, 
and  then  wonder  why  they  should  have  such  bad 
teeth  and  mouths.  Their  father  is  one  of  the  most 
eminent  Filipinos  in  Manila.  He  has  a  fine  head, 
and  a  genius  for  talking  Spanish  to  foreigners  who 
cannot  speak  more  than  a  few  words  of  that  lan- 
guage. It  sounds  as  if  there  were  an  animated  con- 
versation going  on,  yet  he  does  all  the  talking.  His 
daughters  dress  in  mestiza  costume,  and  are  pic- 
turesque bits  of  color  in  the  room.  There  was  an 
ex-general  of  insurgents,  whom  the  army  more  than 
suspects  of  murdering  prisoners,  but  can't  prove  it, 
and  little  Senor  Manuel  from  Iloilo,  ladylike  and 
gentle,  with  his  coquettish  senora,  who  bestowed 
the  purple  and  black  jusis  on  us  during  the  southern 
trip  as  "  suitable  to  our  ages." 

The  large  room  was  quite  full  by  half-past  six, 
when  the  governor  appeared.  Everyone  turned 
when  he  came  in,  and  everyone  was  eager  to  speak 
with  him.  It  is  not  because  he  is  governor,  either, 
but  because  everyone  likes  him,  and  believes  in  his 
sincerity  and  ability.  General  Chaffee  was  a  notable 
figure.  I  think  no  one  can  help  feeling  he  is  a 
strong,  brave  man.  The  Commissioners  rally  every 
Wednesday  to  the  governor's  reception.  The  Amer- 
ican newspapers  are  talking  of  him  for  President 
of  the  United  States.  I  only  wish  our  country 

1 68 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

might  be  fortunate  enough  to  have  such  a  man  for 
president. 

We  had  a  dinner  party  last  week,  and  as  I  have 
told  you  of  so  many  that  went  off  well,  I  must 
record  of  this  that  the  pigeons  were  served  alone. 
The  fried  plantains  that  were  to  go  with  them  were 
forgotten.  In  order  to  have  something  with  them 
I  told  Lai  Ting  to  serve  some  plum  jam.  He 
promptly  appeared  with  it  in  a  tin  can  which  the  cook 
had  chopped  open  with  a  hatchet.  We  were  enter- 
taining Major  Allen  from  Leyte,  who  took  us 
through  the  Straits  of  Samar  last  spring.  . 

August  15,  1901. 

YOU  ask  me  continually  about  the  political  situa- 
tion, quoting  articles  from  the  Evening  Post, 
which  seem  to  give  you  melancholy  forebodings  lest 
the  government  be  going  to  pieces.  Civil  govern- 
ment is  flourishing  in  almost  all  the  places  where  it 
was  "  planted  "  last  spring,  although  some  of  the 
recommendations  were,  perhaps,  premature.  Batan- 
gas  was  evidently  not  ready  for  it,  and  it  has  been 
taken  away  from  Bohol  also.  The  most  difficult 
problem  at  present  is  the  organizing  of  the  courts, 
and  putting  the  new  code  in  force.  Everyone  is  out 
for  himself  among  the  native  politicians,  and  the 
office  seeker  is  as  omnipresent  here  as  at  home. 
There  have  been  several  squalls  in  the  sky,  and  every 
once  in  a  while  the  Federal  party  gets  sulky.  Some 

169 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

of  the  new  American  judges  are  rather  young,  and 
others  are  decidedly  old. 

Some  persons  appear  to  be  alarmed  at  the  way  the 
teachers  are  marrying.  Half  a  dozen  have  already 
entered  the  matrimonial  state.  Still,  as  el  Senor 
says,  this  will  make  it  all  the  easier  to  get  others. 

The  military  sentry  at  our  gate  has  been  replaced 
by  the  new  municipal  police.  The  municipal  police 
is  a  fine  lot  of  men.  They  are  tall  and  well  set  up. 
Their  uniform  is  khaki  with  leather  leggings,  and 
tourists  and  other  travelers  say  there  is  no  other 
city  in  the  world  where  there  is  so  striking  a  police 
corps.  They  were  carefully  selected  from  the  vol- 
unteer regiments  about  to  be  returned  to  the  United 
States,  and  many  of  them  were  non-commissioned 
officers. 

August  25,  1901. 

A/'ESTERDAY  we  went  to  Cavite  for  lunch,  or 
-*-  rather,  as  it  turned  out,  a  banquets.  It  was 
rough  going  over,  and  we  did  not  enjoy  it.  The 
town  does  not  amount  to  much,  but  the  naval  station 
is  interesting. 

We  were  the  guests  of  a  wealthy  Chinese  who  is 
married  to  a  Filipina.  It  is  noteworthy  that  the 
children  of  all  these  Chino-Filipina  marriages  are 
educated  as — dress  like  and  become — Filipinos.  The 
affair  was  elaborate,  the  house  large,  and  filled  with 
expensive  imported  furniture. 

170 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

The  most  delightful  part  of  the  day  was  the  re- 
turn toward  sunset.  The  western  sky  was  gorgeous. 
The  colors  were  vivid  and  strong,  and  the  sky  was 
as  brilliant  in  the  east  as  in  the  west.  We  saw  the 
wrecks  of  the  Spanish  cruisers  sunk  by  Dewey. 
They  gave  a  melancholy  tone  to  the  scene.  We 
took  the  band  on  our  launch,  and  they  played  some 
soft,  rather  sad,  native  music.  The  drives  along  the 
Luneta  at  sunset  and  the  launch  rides  on  the  bay 
are  among  the  most  delightful  experiences  of  our 
life  in  Manila. 

August  30,  1901. 

YESTERDAY  we  returned  from  a  three-days' 
-*-  fiesta  in  the  country,  worn  out  as  usual,  our 
digestion  upset,  but  having  been  both  amused  and 
enlightened  by  the  experience.  I  have  come  to  one 
conclusion  regarding  fiestas.  If  the  loyalty  of  Fil- 
ipinos is  to  be  fostered  at  the  expense  of  my 
stomach,  I  shall  give  up  the  fight.  The  terrible 
bugbear  of  hurting  a  Filipino's  feelings  by  not  eat- 
ing all  the  deadly  dishes  pressed  upon  one  has  held 
its  sway  too  long  already,  so  last  week  I  gently  and 
firmly  declined  to  eat  more  than  twice  as  much  of 
every  course  as  I  wanted.  In  consequence,  I  am 
not  quite  so  thoroughly  exhausted  as  I  usually  am 
in  returning  from  one  of  these  outings.  We  left 
Manila  on  the  seven  o'clock  train  in  the  new  Ameri- 
can cars  recently  sent  out  here  from  California. 
12  171 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

They  seem  wonderfully  luxurious  to  us  as  well  as 
to  the  natives.  The  new  third-class  cars  are  su- 
perior to  the  old  first-class  cars,  and  the  new  first 
class,  with  polished  California  woods  and  stenciled 
decorations,  are  crowded  with  gaping  natives  at 
every  station,  who  pass  through  them  to  look  and 
admire.  We  had  not  been  up  the  railroad  since  last 
year,  and  the  improvement  in  the  country  was 
noticeable.  The  tents  of  the  soldiers  guarding  the 
railway  bridges  and  stations  had  disappeared. 
There  was  land  under  cultivation  where  last  year 
the  fields  were  deserted.  New  bamboo  houses  had 
been  built  near  all  the  stations,  and  few  soldiers  were 
in  evidence.  The  little  native  policeman  strutted 
up  and  down  the  platform  at  every  station,  alive  to 
his  importance  in  the  eyes  of  his  fellow  countrymen. 
We  were  met  by  the  daughters  of  our  entertainers 
in  a  fine  new  rubber-tired  carriage,  and  we  fairly 
flew  over  the  new  road  to  the  little  town,  which  lay 
some  distance  from  the  railway.  The  house  of  our 
host  was  spacious,  and  elegant  in  its  simplicity.  Af- 
ter greetings  had  been  exchanged  we  were  led  to 
our  room,  a  large  front  chamber  with  a  big  window 
overhanging  the  principal  street.  I  mention  this 
window  as  it  is  connected  vividly  in  my  mind  with 
our  visit.  The  room  contained  three  handsomely 
carved  four-poster  Filipino  beds,  each  covered  with 
a  mat.  A  pillow  was  the  only  other  article  on  it. 
Two  chairs  and  a  washstand  comprised  the  rest  of 

172 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

the  furniture.  On  the  washstand  stood  a  most 
gorgeous  toilet  set.  It  consisted  of  pitcher  and 
basin,  countless  bottles,  soap  dishes  and  powder 
boxes,  all  of  pink  glass,  fluted  around  the  edges,  and 
heavily  decorated  in  gilt.  The  basin  held  about  a 
pint  of  water,  and  the  only  place  to  empty  it  after 
washing  was  out  of  the  front  window.  How  many 
times  I  leaned  out  with  that  fragile  pink  glass  basin, 
fearful  lest  I  might  let  it  fall,  and  more  fearful  of 
deluging  a  passer-by,  cannot  be  counted.  After 
each  of  the  party  had  bathed  her  hands  and  face, 
and  I  had  safely  emptied  the  precious  pink  basin 
three  or  four  times,  we  went  to  the  drawing  room. 
The  house  was  filled  with  guests,  many  of  them  old 
friends  from  Manila.  And  we  were  at  once  plunged 
into  the  interminable  formalities  of  greeting.  To 
each  and  everyone  I  was  obliged  to  recount  the  story 
of  Elena's  departure,  to  give  an  account  of  the 
health  of  all  my  relatives,  and  in  turn  remember  to 
ask  after  each  member  of  the  various  families  and 
all  their  relations.  Then  we  sat  down  to  dinner, 
spread  on  a  mahogany  table  that  would  fill  a  col- 
lector of  antique  furniture  with  envy.  I  pass  over 
the  dinner  in  silence.  Afterwards  I  accompanied 
our  host  to  see  his  wife,  who  had  a  new  baby  only 
a  couple  of  days  old. 

In  this  country,  just  as  one  is  bored  to  death  by 
too  much  dinner,  too  much  Spanish,  and  too  much 
Filipino,  something  so  unique,  so  interesting,  and  so 

173 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

picturesque  turns  up  that  everything  else  is  forgot- 
ten in  its  enjoyment.  We  went  downstairs  and 
softly  opened  the  door  of  a  small  darkened  room, 
almost  bare  of  furniture.  Half-a-dozen  old  shriv- 
eled women  sat  around  on  the  floor;  one  was  pre- 
paring food  over  an  earthen  brazier  of  glowing 
coals.  The  babe  lay  on  a  mat  wrapped  in  swaddling 
clothes,  and  just  behind  him  knelt  his  mother.  She 
wore  a  loose  white  chemise  and  blue  skirt,  her  long 
black  hair  fell  about  her  shoulders,  and  she  looked 
at  us  with  large  mild  eyes,  a  little  startled  at  our 
sudden  appearance.  It  was  the  Christ  Child  in  the 
manger,  as  one  sees  it  in  faded  old  Italian  frescoes, 
and  during  my  visit  I  haunted  that  darkened  white- 
washed chamber,  always  received  with  gentle 
friendliness  by  the  mother  and  her  ancient  hand- 
maidens. 

Our  host  is  progressive,  and  the  other  children 
wear  European  dress  that  makes  one  long  to  see 
them  running  about  in  their  pretty  brown  skins.  On 
my  return  to  the  drawing  room  I  found  the  ball  had 
begun,  and,  although  it  was  but  five  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  everyone  was  dancing.  There  were  a 
number  of  newly  arrived  guests  presented,  among 
them  American  officers  from  a  neighboring  post. 
With  one  of  these  officers — I  was  assured  later  by 
his  "  brother  officers  "  that  he  was  "  one  of  those 
civilian  appointees  " — I  had  a  most  extraordinary 
experience.  He  had  arrived  late,  and  had  partaken 

174 


AN    OFFICIAL'S   WIFE 

freely  of  the  different  refreshments  a  Filipino  host 
has  learned  to  provide  for  his  American  guests,  so, 
when  he  was  brought  up  later  in  the  evening  and 
presented  to  me  in  proper  Filipino  style,  his  ears 
conveyed  to  his  brain  only  the  words  "  Civil  Com- 
mission." "  The  lady  of  the  Civil  Commission  "  is 
the  form  the  Filipinos  always  use  in  introducing  me. 
The  captain,  for  such  was  his  rank,  hearing  these 
words,  gazed  meditatively  beyond  me,  and  repeated : 
."Civil  Commission!  Civil  Commission!  I'd  like 
to  pitch  Civil  Commission  into  Manila  Bay !  "  And 
then  he  smiled  benevolently  on  me,  and  was  begin- 
ning to  repeat  his  wish  when  he  was  forcibly  retired 
from  the  room  by  his  brother  officers,  repeating: 
"  Pitch-Civil-Commission-into-Manila-Bay!"  It  was 
irresistibly  funny,  but  at  the  same  time  it  was  pain- 
ful, for  the  Filipinos  were  horrified,  expecting 
I  should  feel  insulted,  and  would  include  them  in 
my  displeasure.  My  host  implored  me  to  command 
him  to  put  the  offender  out  of  the  house,  protesting 
he  would  willingly  do  it,  no  matter  at  what  cost  to 
himself.  The  Filipinos  stand  in  the  same  awe  of 
our  officers  that  they  did  of  the  Spanish  officials, 
and  permit  almost  any  rudeness  to  pass  unchal- 
lenged, because  they  have  not  yet  learned  the  Amer- 
ican point  of  view.  Everyone  knows  how  universal 
is  the  belief  that  the  civil  and  military  authorities 
in  the  Islands  are  not  friendly  to  each  other.  This 
is  the  first  time  I  have  ever  encountered  any  expres- 

175 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

sion  of  that  alleged  feeling,  and  it  is  only  due  to  the 
captain  to  say  that  later  he  made  ample  amends. 
About  midnight  he  returned  to  the  ball  room  look- 
ing weak  and  chastened,  his  hair  suspiciously 
smooth  and  damp,  suggestive  of  a  recent  douche 
under  the  pump.  His  brother  officers  tried  their 
best  to  keep  him  out  of  my  way,  but  he  was  deter- 
mined like  a  man  to  say  he  was  sorry.  So,  in  a 
pause  of  the  dance,  he  came  up  and,  planting  him- 
self in  front  of  me,  said  quite  gently :  "  I  love  Civil 
Commission;  want  them  to  spend  a  week;  I  will 
not  pitch  Civil  Commission  into  Manila  Bay."  He 
then  sat  down  in  an  armchair,  where,  conscious  of 
an  offense  condoned,  he  peacefully  slept  during  the 
remainder  of  the  ball.  Of  course,  the  other  men 
were  overwhelming  in  their  apologies,  and  excused 
the  man  on  the  ground  that  he  came  in  late  from  a 
long  ride  and  did  not  know  how  strong  Don  An- 
tonio's whisky  was. 

After  the  midnight  banquet  dancing  was  re- 
sumed. At  two  o'clock  I  went  to  bed.  The  other 
guests  danced  till  dawn  in  Filipino  fashion.  I  must 
record  that  there  were  many  pretty  girls  in  unusu- 
ally pretty  dresses.  Dona  Maria  wore  a  flame-col- 
ored camisa  and  panuela,  embroidered  in  white  mar- 
guerites. The  flowers  were  shaded  with  gold  thread, 
and  there  were  four  tiny  pearls  in  their  centers. 
The  blue  silk  skirt  was  shot  with  zigzags  of  white. 
Every  girl  wore  either  a  pearl  or  diamond  necklace. 

176 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

Sunday  was  a  laborious  day.  Dancing  began  at 
ten  o'clock  in  the  morning.  At  twelve  we  sat  down 
to  a  long  dinner.  One  of  the  dishes  was  a  young 
pig  served  with  a  delicious  green  sauce.  It  was 
roasted  out  of  doors,  over  a  bed  of  coals ;  a  bamboo 
pole  thrust  lengthwise  through  its  body  served  as  a 
spit.  It  was  turned  by  a  relay  of  small  naked  boys. 
The  old  women  basted  it  continually,  and  kept  law 
and  order  among  the  lazy  little  Filipinos  with  the 
basting  spoon.  The  mahogany  table  seated  thirty 
guests.  At  each  place  were  three  handsome  French 
plates  with  a  crest  in  the  center.  In  front  of  each 
cover  was  a  solid  silver  tray  holding  three  delicate 
wineglasses.  The  center  piece  was  a  large  bust  of 
a  Roman  matron  in  frosted  glass  supporting  a  pyra- 
mid of  fruit  on  her  head,  and  amidst  the  array  of 
sweets  were  two  immense  vases  holding  bouquets  of 
silver  and  gold  leaves  and  flowers.  In  spite  of  the 
Roman  matron  and  the  glass  vases,  the  table  was 
handsome. 

I  passed  another  long  evening  watching  the 
ceaseless  whirl  of  dancers,  whose  heelless  slippers 
never  seemed  to  tire  of  gliding  over  the  shining 
floor.  Some  of  the  guests  did  not  go  to  bed  at  all, 
and  were  eating  sweet  cakes  when  we  came  into  the 
dining  room  at  dawn,  ready  for  our  early  train. 
One  can  entertain  numberless  guests  in  the  Philip- 
pines. A  supply  of  clean  straw  mats,  and  as  many 
rolls  of  cotton  covered  with  turkey-red  calico,  is  all 

177 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

that  a  hostess  needs.  These  are  spread  on  the  floor 
in  the  hall  or  drawing  room,  and  the  guests  are  per- 
fectly comfortable. 

September  4,  1901. 

TAST  night  we  went  to  ^  teachers'  banquet. 
•*-'  There  was  a  large  number  present,  and  they 
had  a  good  time,  I  think.  There  was  one  amusing 
event.  An  invited  guest,  one  of  the  judges  from 
the  interior,  made  a  speech  in  which  he  spoke  of  the 
failure  of  justice  through  the  unreliability  of  wit- 
nesses, and  of  the  oppression  of  the  poor  natives  by 
the  presidentes,  the  heads  of  villages.  He  suggested 
that  it  might  be  a  good  plan  to  change  the  name 
presidente,  which  had  become  associated  with  op- 
pression, and  substitute  some  other,  which  would 
cause  the  people  to  inquire  into  the  powers  of  the 
new  office.  In  this  way  he  thought  they  would  dis- 
cover that  presidentes  could  no  longer  make  them 
perform  forced  labor  or  pay  unjust  taxes.  Of 
course,  this  was  not  actually  given  as  a  suggestion  to 
the  Commission,  and  the  judge  apologized  for  men- 
tioning it,  but  it  aroused  the  ire  of  the  toastmaster, 
a  member  of  the  Commission,  who  arose  and  in  his 
most  metallic  tones  said  he  wished  he  might  believe 
that  the  simple  remedy  offered  by  the  judge  would 
make  honest  men  of  the  corrupt  class  known  as 
presidentes.  Then  he  gave  at  great  length  a  history 
of  the  office  of  presidente,  showing  it  to  be  a  name 

178 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

of  quite  recent  date,  and  selected  by  the  people  in 
place  of  the  old  Spanish  names,  gobernadorcillo  and 
alcalde,  for  just  the  reason  that  it  was  suggestive  of 
free  institutions.  It  was  all  true,  and  quite  interest- 
ing, but  the  poor  judge,  thus  convicted,  not  only  of 
giving  advice  not  asked  for  to  the  great  U.  S.  Phil- 
ippine Commission,  but  also  proved  ignorant  of 
what  he  was  talking  about  before  twenty-five  or 
thirty  school  teachers  and  junior  graduates  of  a 
university  where  he  had  been  a  professor,  looked 
crushed,  and  a  little  indignant,  I  thought. 

When  one  thinks  about  this  great  educational  im- 
migration, it  certainly  appeals  to  the  imagination, 
but  when  he  is  brought  into  close  contact  with  six 
hundred  of  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  teachers,  both 
male  and  female,  he  has  the  truth  forced  upon  him 
that  the  few  must  leaven  the  lump.  Their  spirit  is 
good,  and  they  consider  their  coming  to  the  Islands 
in  the  light  of  a  crusade.  It  is  amusing  to  hear 
them  talk  about  "  our  unique  position  in  the  history 
of  the  world."  It  reminded  me  of  Kipling's  com- 
ments on  the  American's  character,  and  his  belief 
that  everything  American  was  the  biggest,  best,  and 
most  remarkable  "  in  the  world."  Ever  since  the 
teachers  landed,  people  have  been  telling  them  that 
the  future  of  the  Islands  depends  upon  them ;  that 
they  will  do  more  than  all  our  armies  have  done. 
This  is  true,  and  it  must  inspire  them,  but  it  also 
puffs  them  up  to  a  certain  degree,  and  they  already 

179 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

assume  the  airs  of  the  conquerors.  In  a  day  or  two 
they  will  all  be  gone  into  the  provinces,  and  Manila 
will  see  the  soldier  straps  emerge  again  from  the 
obscurity  into  which  six  hundred  civilians  have  cast 
them.  The  undertaking,  not  in  the  least  simple,  of 
collecting,  transporting,  and  maintaining  over  six 
hundred  men,  women,  and  children,  and  finally  as- 
signing and  sending  them  to  various  parts  of  the 
Islands,  is  fortunately  successfully  ended. 

Monday  the  three  new  Filipino  Commissioners 
were  introduced,  and  took  the  oath  of  office.  The 
secretaries  were  also  sworn  in.  I  send  you  an  ac- 
count of  the  ceremony.  El  Senor  forgot  to  tell  me 
about  it,  so  I  did  not  see  it.  I  was  sorry,  for  they 
say  it  was  interesting.  The  Filipino  gentlemen  who 
were  appointed  Commissioners,  and  their  friends, 
are  naturally  delighted  to  have  a  share  in  the  gov- 
ernment. Both  the  Manila  representatives  know 
English  well  enough  to  understand  all  that  is  said, 
and  do  not  hinder  business.  The  member  from 
Negros  does  not  speak  or  understand  a  word.  The 
promoter  of  the  peace  fiesta  last  year  has  succeeded 
in  founding  a  new  party,  which  puts  forth  neither 
more  nor  less  than  the  old  insurrecto  platform.  He 
and  a  Filipino  editor  are  the  mischief  makers,  and 
both  because  they  want  preferment,  and  hope  by 
annoying  the  administration  to  get  office.  Other- 
wise, everything  is  serene,  in  spite  of  all  the  papers 
may  say. 

1 80 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 


VII 

A    WINTER    IN    MANILA 

MANILA,  November  20,  1901. 

ETURNING  from  a  journey  of  two  months  in 
China,  I  found  my  worst  fears  realized  on  the 
trip  from  Hongkong.  The  monsoon  was  blowing 
with  unusual  force,  and  from  the  time  we  left  Hong- 
kong harbor  until  we  reached  the  shelter  of  the 
Mariveles  point  we  were  tossed  and  battered  about 
in  a  most  disagreeable  fashion.  The  waves  banged 
themselves  viciously  against  the  steamer,  but  the 
Chang  Cha  was  stanch.  All  day  and  all  night  the 
dishes,  pots  and  pans,  and  all  the  movable  cargo 
crashed  back  and  forth,  adding  to  the  din  of  dashing 
waves  and  splashing  water.  We  all  stayed  miser- 
ably in  bed,  waiting  in  dull  despair  for  the  two 
nights  and  the  day  to  pass. 

Finally,  we  reached  the  coast  of  Corregidor, 
where  the  government  tug  was  to  meet  us,  and 
where  the  Chang  Cha's  owners  had  agreed  to  take 
us,  Manila  not  being  a  port  of  call  on  their  trip.  It 
was  accommodating  in  them,  for  they  went  about 
ninety  miles  out  of  their  course.  At  dawn  the  cap- 

181 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

tain  sighted  the  big  sea-going  government  tug,  and 
at  eight  o'clock  we,  our  boys,  and  all  our  belongings 
were  on  board,  and  we  were  waving  good-by  to  the 
captain,  who  had  expressed  his  opinion  to  me  quite 
freely  about  the  oppressive  red  tape  of  the  American 
customs  and  harbor  regulations.  He  considered 
Manila  under  the  Americans  the  worst  port  of  the 
Japan-Australian  run;  and  he  lamented  the  ancient 
Spanish  regime,  when  twenty  pesos  pressed  into  the 
hands  of  the  customs  and  harbor  officials  would 
leave  him  free  and  unmolested  to  land  his  goods  in 
his  own  way.  Now  he  has  many  papers  to  make 
out  which  must  be  signed  and  countersigned,  and 
he  is  obliged  to  go  on  shore  in  person  and  drive 
about  in  the  heat  in  "  beastly  dirty,  broken-down 
rigs  "  to  present  papers  to  the  authorities.  So  he 
avoids  Manila  whenever  he  can,  and  prejudices 
other  skippers.  He  affirms  that  all  the  lines  will 
boycott  the  port  of  Manila.  I  tried  to  argue  faintly 
in  favor  of  Anglo-Saxon  probity,  but  he  said  one 
soon  got  over  that  nonsense  in  the  East. 

On  board  the  tug  was  quite  an  army  of  secre- 
taries and  clerks,  who  looked  rather  hollow-eyed, 
as  they  had  been  cruising  about  all  night  waiting  for 
the  Chang  Cha.  The  news  of  the  governor's  im- 
proved health  relieved  our  anxiety,  and  we  enjoyed 
the  sail  up  the  bay.  I  confess  to  a  thrill  of  home- 
coming as  the  low,  white  level  line  of  the  shore 
flashed  out  from  the  blue  background  of  the  hills  and 

182 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

sky.  Luis  met  me  with  the  new  quilez,  and  I  was 
soon  at  home  refreshing  myself  with  soda  and  lemon- 
ade, exclaiming  over  Auria,  who  had  gained  an  inch 
in  height,  and  listening  to  her  enthusiastic  account 
of  the  new  municipal  school,  where  she  has  been 
placed  with  all  the  "  Commission  children,"  as  she 
calls  them.  Fraulein  is  spending  the  morning  hours, 
while  Auria  is  in  school,  teaching  small  Filipinos 
English.  She  is  successful  in  her  work,  and  im- 
parts a  good  English  accent  to  her  pupils.  Not  only 
the  "  Commission  children  "  and  the  army  children 
attend  the  school,  but  any  Filipina  or  Filipino  who 
can  speak  English  well  enough  to  understand  his 
work  may  enter,  and  already  a  large  number  attend. 
Auria  tells  me  that  last  week  the  Filipino  boys  beat 
the  Americans  at  football,  a  game  the  latter  taught 
them  quite  recently.  The  session  begins  at  eight 
and  ends  at  twelve  o'clock,  and  tag  and  prisoner's 
base  are  the  favorite  recess  games;  but  they  seem 
not  exactly  suited  to  a  tropical  climate.  At  first  the 
exclusive  Spanish  and  mestizo  families  were  not  in- 
clined to  send  their  children,  especially  the  girls,  but 
lately  el  Senor  has  had  many  encouraging  talks  with 
the  fathers  of  children  who  have  always  attended 
the  convent  schools,  but  who  are  now  going  to  the 
municipal  school.  The  fact  that  Governor  Taft 
sends  his  children  has  naturally  placed  the  public- 
school  question  in  a  new  light.  The  teachers  are 
selected  with  care,  and  the  standard  is  excellent.  As 

183 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

for  the  native  children,  Fraulein  says  they  are  docile, 
quick,  and  obedient.  Other  teachers  of  experience 
in  the  United  States  say  they  are  far  easier  to  teach 
than  American  children,  for  they  do  not  "  get  on 
their  nerves,"  as  American  children  do. 

Auria  has  become  quite  intimate  with  two  polite 
little  girls  who  live  near  us  in  a  fine  house.  Their 
father  is  progressive,  and  has  this  year  enlarged  his 
business  along  the  line  of  the  American  department 
store.  He  calls  it  the  Twentieth  Century.  The 
family  is  wealthy,  and  Auria  is  enthusiastic  over  the 
wonderful  French  toys  the  children  have.  Filipinos 
are  extravagant  in  many  ways  from  our  point  of 
view.  They  buy  all  sorts  of  mechanical  toys,  talk- 
ing dolls,  and  wonderful  little  houses  completely 
furnished.  Already  all  the  shops  in  the  Escolta  are 
beginning  their  holiday  display,  and  one  could  spend 
a  small  fortune  in  Parisian  novelties.  I  notice,  too, 
the  American  woman  has  created  a  demand  for  hats. 
The  best  houses  are  showing  glass  cases  full  of  the 
latest  creations  from  Paris.  They  are,  however,  de- 
cidedly gay:  pink,  blue,  and  red  predominate.  I 
have  seen  only  one  really  pretty  hat.  I  am  sorry 
we  are  introducing  the  hat ;  it  is  healthier  and  more 
comfortable  without  it. 


184 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

-  MANILA,  November  26,  1901. 
interest  in  these  days  is  absorbed  in  house 
hunting.  You  can't  imagine  the  discourage- 
ment I  feel,  for  it  seems  as  if  the  comforts  of  this 
place  are  magnified  and  its  drawbacks  diminish  now 
we  find  we  must  leave  it.  All  our  friends  are  on  the 
alert,  and  we  daily  receive  messages  suggesting  this 
house  or  that  one,  only  to  find  on  investigation  that 
it  is  impossible.  I  also  notice  that  rents  go  up  most 
alarmingly  when  it  is  known  that  a  Commissioner 
wishes  to  rent  the  house.  One  place  was  offered  us 
by  a  friend  who  had  been  repairing  it,  and  who 
described  it  as  palatial.  You  should  have  seen  the 
frescoes!  American  flags  and  eagles  were  spread 
all  over  the  ceilings,  and  the  most  impossible  colors 
were  on  the  walls.  There  was  not  an  inch  of  ground 
back  or  front,  and  only  three  bedrooms,  no  dining 
room — one  ate  in  the  hall — and  the  price  was 
one  hundred  and  fifty  gold  a  month.  The  only 
house  we  can  consider  is  the  Lawton  house,  now 
held  by  the  military  authorities.  It  has  been  the 
headquarters  of  a  general  officer,  but  owing  to 
some  new  arrangement  of  the  commands  he  is 
moving  out  and  we  are  putting  in  a  claim  for  the 
place. 

The  owners  are  in  Paris,  and  have  not  received 
any  rent  for  the  house  since  it  transpired  that  they 
are  insurrectos.  One  of  our  friends,  a  Filipino,  is 
making  inquiries.  It  seems  as  if  the  owners  ought 

185 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

to  have  rent  now,  as  civil  government  is  established 
and  the  insurrecto  family  out  of  the  country. 

MANILA,  December  i,  1901. 

IT  is  all  arranged;  we  are  to  have  the  Lawton 
house.  The  commanding  general  waived  his  claim, 
thereby  bitterly  disappointing  several  members  of  the 
medical  staff,  who  with  their  wives  were  anticipat- 
ing big  airy  quarters.  It  must  be  maddening  to  be 
ranked  out  of  houses,  as  officers  are  in  the  army, 
but  they  are  certainly  very  good-natured  about  it. 

The  house  was  beautiful,  but  it  is  so  out  of  re- 
pair that  it  will  take  months  of  work  to  put  it  in 
order.  The  owners  are  jubilant  to  get  the  army  out 
and  civilians  in,  but  we  must  do  the  repairing.  The 
house  interior  must  be  reclothed  and  papered,  tinted 
and  painted,  partitions  taken  down,  plumbing  over- 
hauled, and  the  whole  house  rewired  in  accordance 
with  the  new  regulations.  At  present  the  interior  is 
gloomy  and  ugly.  There  are  imitation  Corinthian 
marble  columns  in  the  drawing  room,  which  is  cov- 
ered with  tattered  gray  paper.  The  ceiling  cloth  is 
torn,  and  hangs  down  in  many  places.  Trellises 
with  cupids  peeking  through  them,  and  ladies  and 
gentlemen  promenading,  adorn  it.  There  are  fine 
mahogany  floors,  and  the  proportions  of  the  rooms 
are  good.  I  know  when  we  have  cool,  soft  tints 
on  the  walls  and  plain  ceilings,  when  the  forty  carved 
chairs  and  six  sofas  in  the  drawing  room  are  cleaned 

1 86 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

and  repolished,  and  the  eleven  mirrors  regilded,  it 
will  be  quite  splendid.  There  are  some  fine  pieces 
of  furniture  scattered  over  the  house,  but  it  all 
needs  repolishing  and  repairing.  The  butler's  pan- 
try is  a  room  about  thirty  feet  square,  with  a  cistern 
under  the  floor  twenty  feet  deep.  All  the  rain  water 
rushes  into  it.  There  is  a  big  tiled  bath  downstairs 
supplied  with  water  from  the  roof  when  it  rains. 
At  other  times  it  is  filled  from  a  faucet.  The  house 
faces  Calle  Concepcion,  and  the  back  of  the  house 
is  on  the  river.  The  great  drawback  is  a  rice  ware- 
house on  one  side  three  stories  high.  The  blank 
wall  of  the  galvanized  iron  reflects  the  tropical  heat 
directly  into  the  bedrooms.  However,  we  are 
thankful  to  get  so  good  a  house,  but  it  will  not  be 
as  cool  as  this  house,  and  possibly  not  so  healthy. 

Governor  Taft  is  still  at  the  hospital,  and,  in 
spite  of  his  dangerous  illness  and  two  operations, 
maintains  his  usual  cheerful  frame  of  mind.  When- 
ever I  go  to  see  him,  and  tell  him  the  more  amusing 
incidents  of  our  China  trip,  he  laughs  till  the  bed 
shakes.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  is  still  seriously 
ill,  he  keeps  in  touch  with  all  public  business,  and 
discusses  and  decides  questions  as  if  he  were  per- 
fectly well.  It  has  been  decided  he  shall  go  to 
America  at  the  end  of  this  month  to  recuperate.  I 
think  Mrs.  Taft  needs  the  change  as  much  as  he 
does.  She  is  very  debilitated,  and  has  worked  as 
hard  in  her  way  as  the  governor  in  his.  It  is  no 
13  187 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

easy  task  to  entertain  on  the  scale  they  do  in  this 
climate,  with  inefficient  servants,  and  the  harassing 
question  of  getting  something  new  to  eat  in  a  place 
where  tinned  milk  and  canned  goods  form  one's 
chief  supply  for  dinner  parties.  I  think  she  shows 
remarkable  ability,  but  her  weekly  receptions  must 
seriously  tax  her  strength.  The  Filipinos  adore 
Governor  Taft,  and  the  first  question  in  every  gath- 
ering is  to  inquire  as  to  his  health.  They  know  he 
likes  them,  and  that  is  the  secret  of  his  popularity. 

MANILA,  December  15,  1901. 

"WESTERDAY  we  went  up  to  Malolos  with  half- 
-*•  a-dozen  Americans  on  the  invitation  of  Sefior 
Rojas,  who  is  one  of  the  best  Filipino  judges  in  the 
Islands.  The  picnic  was  an  all-day  affair,  with 
much  eating  and  dancing. 

The  weather  is  delightful  at  this  season.  Decem- 
ber is  perfection,  and  I  would  be  willing  to  live 
here  all  my  life  if  every  month  were  December. 
We  went  up  on  the  morning  train  accompanied  by 
several  Filipino  guests.  Among  the  others  was  Dr. 
Tavena,  who  had  not  been  in  Malolos  since  the 
meeting  of  the  famous  congress,  of  which  he  was  a 
prominent  member.  He  told  us  in  his  dramatic, 
nervous  way  of  the  night  he  fled  to  Manila  because 
he  was  no  longer  in  accord  with  Aguinaldo  and  his 
plans.  Our  Pampangan  friends  joined  us,  inquiring 
solicitously  after  each  and  every  relative,  and  send- 

188 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

ing  remembrances  to  Elena  and  her  "  estimado 
marido."  When  we  reached  the  station  there  were 
waiting  for  us  various  country  vehicles  we  had 
learned  to  dread  on  the  southern  trip.  From  one  of 
them  descended  Governor  Serapio,  the  terror  of 
Ladrones,  whom  you  may  remember  as  the  prin- 
cipal figure  in  General  Grant's  dramatic  flag  present- 
ation last  spring.  The  governor  is  seventy  years 
old,  but  so  well  preserved  that  he  does  not  look  over 
fifty. 

On  our  drive  to  the  house  where  we  were  to  be 
entertained  an  incident  occurred  which  shows  how 
many  foolish  things  are  done  out  here  by  thought- 
less officers  who  wish  to  impress  their  power  on  the 
natives.  As  the  first  carromata,  containing  several 
Filipinos  and  one  of  the  private  secretaries,  was 
passing  the  convento  where  the  soldiers  are  quar- 
tered, a  sentry  called  to  them  to  halt,  and  com- 
manded that  they  salute  the  flag.  They  protested, 
explaining  who  they  were,  and  were  only  allowed 
to  proceed  after  remonstrance  by  the  American. 
The  remainder  of  the  party  were  allowed  to  pass 
unchallenged  when  the  guard  satisfied  himself  there 
were  Americans  with  the  Filipinos.  Malolos  is  un- 
der civil  government.  The  post  is  there  only  as  a 
post  in  our  own  country.  Imagine  the  officers  of  a 
garrison  in  America  commanding  all  passers-by  to 
salute  the  flag.  It  would  create  an  insurrection  at 
once.  The  whole  region  is  indignant  at  these  petty 

189 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

annoyances,  but  our  host,  the  judge,  had  not  re- 
ported the  case,  as  the  Filipino  dislikes  to  get  him- 
self into  trouble  with  the  military  authorities. 

We  had  left  Manila  at  half-past  seven,  and,  for- 
getful of  the  Filipino  customs,  I  had  before  leaving 
home  eaten  a  hearty  breakfast.  Immediately  on  our 
arrival,  welcomed  as  usual  by  a  native  band  and  the 
gente,  we  were  ushered  into  the  dining  room,  where 
companies  of  wine,  beer,  whisky,  and  champagne 
bottles  were  ranged  up  and  down  the  center  of  the 
table,  and  cold  and  hot  dishes  of  all  kinds  were 
pressed  upon  us  with  the  hospitality  that  will  not 
take  nay  for  an  answer.  From  half-past  nine  till 
eleven  o'clock  we  sat  there,  the  company  leisurely 
eating,  changing  places  like  a  progressive  luncheon, 
coming  and  going,  talking  or  silent,  as  each  one 
saw  fit.  Now  and  then  one  of  our  Filipino  friends 
would  rise  and  make  a  little  complimentary  speech 
to  the  ladies,  which  was  always  received  with  muy 
bien,  the  Filipino  expression  of  approval.  Our  host 
sat  calmly  at  ease  during  the  long  collation,  not  in 
the  least  alarmed  lest  his  guests  might  be  bored. 
The  band  played  persistently.  The  younger  couples 
went  off  to  the  big  reception  room  for  a  waltz,  re- 
turning now  and  then  for  refreshments.  At  eleven 
o'clock  we  all  adjourned  to  the  sala,  where  the  offi- 
cers of  the  garrison,  their  wives,  and  three  school 
teachers  were  assembled.  We  were  naturally  inter- 
ested in  hearing  how  the  teachers  were  enjoying 

190 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

their  work.  All  three  were  women,  and  university 
graduates.  One  was  a  pretty  girl  from  Wellesley, 
the  other  two  were  from  the  University  of  Michi- 
gan. They  were  dressed  in  light  jusi  gowns  daintily 
made,  and  presented  an  attractive  appearance.  I 
could  not  but  notice  the  manner  of  the  young  Fil- 
ipinos toward  these  girls.  The  lighting  of  the  eye 
and  the  animated  expression  of  the  face,  the  Ameri- 
can handshake  that  accompanied  the  formal  words 
of  greeting  to  the  teachers,  showed  plainly  the  place 
these  young  women  had  taken  among  the  Filipinos. 
These  girls  were  happy  and  interested  in  their  work. 
Two  who  taught  in  Malolos  were  enthusiastic  over 
the  progress  of  their  pupils.  The  third  from  Dagu- 
pan  was  quieter,  but  said  she  was  glad  to  be  in  the 
Philippines,  and  liked  teaching  Filipino  children. 
They  said  life  was  quite  gay,  that  they  were  invited 
about  to  balls  and  fiestas.  They  were  popular,  and 
danced  writh  the  young  Filipinos,  and  I  am  sure  no 
one  could  wish  for  a  more  attractive  partner  or 
more  graceful  dancer  than  young  Senor  Arnedo,  of 
Sulipan,  who  was  the  life  of  the  party. 

A  short  hour  was  spent  in  greeting,  chatting,  and 
exchanging  the  necessary  compliments  incident  to 
the  occasion;  then,  to  our  consternation,  the  ban- 
quete  was  announced — the  twelve-course  dinner  we 
knew  so  well  from  long  experience.  But  there  was 
no  help  for  it,  and  we  spent  two  hours  eating,  en- 
livened by  speeches  and  toasts.  The  simple,  straight- 

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UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

forward,  unadorned  sentiments  of  the  Americans 
contrasted  sharply  with  the  elegant  phrases  that  fall 
so  easily  from  the  tongue  accustomed  to  the  Spanish 
language. 

During  the  hot  hours  of  the  afternoon  the 
younger  guests  danced  with  marvelous  energy.  In 
the  company  were  two  pretty  Spanish  mestizas  in 
European  dress,  who  came  in  yellow  slippers  two 
sizes  too  small  for  their  feet.  These  senoritas 
danced  unceasingly,  although  their  faces  were  dis- 
torted with  pain,  and  between  dances  they  slipped 
off  the  little  yellow  shoes  and  moaned  "  It  hurts ! 
It  hurts !  "  in  their  soft  Spanish  accent.  The 
younger  one  burst  into  tears  after  an  unusually  long 
waltz,  but  with  the  fortitude  of  American  Indians 
they  returned  to  the  torture  every  time  the  band 
began  to  play. 

I  was  so  overcome  with  the  heat,  dinner,  and  this 
spectacle  that  I  retired  to  a  big  bedroom  containing 
four  large  Filipino  beds,  hoping  to  rest,  but  it 
proved  to  be  the  dressing  room,  where  the  ladies 
came  to  plaster  their  perspiring  faces  with  white 
chalk,  and  where  the  Spanish  maidens  came  to 
weep  over  their  yellow  shoes,  so,  although  I  "  saw 
life,"  I  did  not  rest. 

After  our  attempted  siesta  we  returned  to  the 
scene  of  festivities,  but  found  the  sala  deserted,  and 
the  company  eating  cakes  and  drinking  chocolate  in 
the  dining  room.  In  the  cooler  hours  we  walked 

192 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

about  Malolos.  It  is  practically  ruined.  The  beauti- 
ful church  and  convent  were  burned  by  Aguinaldo 
when  he  left  the  town.  Numbers  of  private  dwell- 
ings were  destroyed,  but  among  those  standing 
many  are  remarkable  for  their  picturesqueness. 
Several  were  decorated  with  elaborate  wood  carv- 
ings. One  of  the  facades  was  adorned  with  four 
caryatides  of  heroic  size.  A  half-ruined  stone 
house  was  decorated  with  colored  tiles;  over  the 
doors  and  windows  were  carvings  that  suggested 
Moresque  influence.  It  was  probably  presumed  that 
we  were  exhausted  by  the  exertion  of  our  sight- 
seeing, for  supper  was  served  on  our  return.  The 
long-suffering  men  of  the  party  balked  this  time,  so 
we  poor  women,  not  to  hurt  our  host's  feelings, 
were  driven  to  partake  of  sticky  sweets  and  a  cup 
of  tea. 

We  were  accompanied  to  the  station  not  only  by 
our  hosts,  but  by  all  the  inhabitants  of  Malolos  and 
the  band.  I  proudly  record  that  I  kept  up  an 
hysterical  gayety  of  demeanor  during  the  last  half 
hour  of  our  sojourn  in  Malolos,  only  to  sink  into 
stupid  blank  dullness  the  moment  the  thousand 
thanks  and  million  compliments  had  been  hurled  out 
of  the  car  window  at  our  hospitable  friends.  Truly 
such  a  day  makes  for  what  Professor  Sill  used  to 
call  "  pleonusia,"  or  larger  experience,  but  it  is  not 
good  for  the  stomach. 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

MANILA,  December  24,  1901. 

TO-DAY  we  said  au  revoir  to  Governor  Taft  and 
his  family.  They  left  on  the  Sheridan  for  San 
Francisco,  and  the  Filipinos  are  lamenting  their  de- 
parture. "  We  have  never  had  a  good  governor 
who  was  not  taken  from  us,"  an  old  Filipino  friend 
said  to  me  to-day  as  we  were  returning  from  the 
transport.  Many  deputations  and  committees  of 
Filipinos  have  waited  on  the  governor  during  the 
past  week.  He  did  not  wish  to  go  away  without 
seeing  them,  so  the  last  days  have  been  exhausting. 
As  he  went  on  board  the  transport  he  looked  pale 
and  worn,  but  he  was  in  good  spirits,  and  was  able 
to  stand  up  and  shake  hands  with  the  hundred  or 
more  friends  who  came  to  say  good-by.  If  the 
government  knows  what  is  best  for  the  Philippine 
Islands,  Governor  Taft  will  remain  in  office  as  long 
as  his  services  can  be  retained,  for  he  has  a  rare 
gift  of  attraction  for,  and  sympathy  with,  the  native 
population.  At  the  same  time  he  has  the  wisdom  to 
govern  them  wisely. 

MANILA,  December  26,  1901. 

/CHRISTMAS  was  not  a  very  lively  fiesta  with 
**•*'  us,  for  Auria  was  ill  in  bed.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  a  box  of  lemons  from  San  Francisco,  our 
Christmas  presents  did  not  arrive,  but  I  bought  a 
little  artificial  German  tree,  hung  all  kinds  of  deco- 
rations on  its  stiff  wire  branches,  and  under  it 

194 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

placed  a  quantity  of  gifts  for  Auria,  who  from  the 
bed  watched  the  lighted  candles. 

A  friend  who  has  children  told  me  a  story  to-day 
of  the  pathetic  Christmas  letters  she  had  received 
from  America  lamenting  the  toyless  condition  of 
the  little  ones  in  "  the  far-away  heathen  land  "  to 
which  they  were  exiled,  and  of  the  box  of  gifts  on 
which  she  had  been  obliged  to  pay  a  high  duty  when 
everything  it  contained  could  have  been  duplicated 
on  the  Escolta,  probably  for  half  their  cost  in 
America. 

One  of  the  jokes  of  the  season  is  a  Christmas 
party  which  was  the  result  of  this  lack  of  knowl- 
edge of  conditions  out  here.  Pascua  de  la  Natividad, 
as  they  call  Christmas,  is  one  of  the  most  popular 
holidays  of  the  year.  As  early  as  two  weeks  before 
Christmas,  in  all  the  squares  about  the  churches, 
booths  are  erected  for  the  sale  of  all  imaginable 
European  toys  and  notions.  Every  man,  woman, 
and  child  in  Manila  knows  about  Christmas  gifts, 
and  among  the  wealthy  families  extravagant  and 
beautiful  presents  are  exchanged.  Everyone  who 
has  ever  been  employed  in  any  capacity  during  the 
year  in  one's  house  has  hopes  of  an  "  aguinaldo," 
which  is  a  Christmas  present.  Little  poems  are  left 
at  the  door  to  remind  you  of  your  duty  to  these 
various  persons ;  trees  "  made  in  Germany "  are 
lighted  on  Christmas  Eve  in  many  houses. 

All  innocent  of  this  a  benevolent  American  lady 
195 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

in  the  United  States,  who  was  deeply  interested  "  in 
the  benighted  natives,"  sent  out  a  large  collection  of 
toys,  small  dolls,  blocks,  picture  books,  and  knick- 
knacks  of  every  sort  to  a  friend  in  Manila,  asking 
her  to  invite  a  party  of  Filipino  children  to  her 
home,  decorate  a  tree,  distribute  the  gifts,  and  for 
once  give  them  an  idea  of  a  real  American  Christ- 
mas. It  was  exactly  the  kind  of  tree  one  gets  up 
for  a  mission  Sunday  school.  Behold  assembled  a 
hundred  or  more  of  the  elite  of  Manila's  mestizo- 
Filipino  society  with  a  respectable  sprinkling  of 
American  children.  What  they  thought  of  the 
"  American  Christmas "  I  only  surmise  from  the 
stories  I  heard  of  the  extravagance  usually  dis- 
played at  the  Filipino  celebrations.  The  Filipino 
must  derive  much  amusement  from  American  ig- 
norance. 

I  received  several  aguinaldos  from  friends.  One 
especially  pretty  basket,  decorated  with  red,  white, 
and  blue  ribbon  and  little  American  flags,  was  rilled 
with  every  imaginable  sweet  thing  to  eat.  There 
were  Malaga  grapes,  imported  from  Spain  packed 
in  sawdust,  that  still  retained  their  flavor,  raisins  in 
fancy  boxes,  nuts,  little  bottles  of  champagne, 
peaches  in  sugar,  and  rich  preserves. 

The  Filipinos  spend  large  sums  on  their  aguinal- 
dos, and  my  dining  room  was  like  the  show  window 
of  a  fancy  grocery. 

Christmas  Eve  I  was  invited  by  some  Filipino 
196 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

friends  for  a  huelga,  which,  translated  into  corre- 
sponding English  slang,  would  be  "  going  on  a 
tear."  We  began  with  the  theater,  where  we  saw 
some  very  good  Japanese  acrobats.  The  building 
was  half  open  to  the  sky,  and  the  seats  for  the  com- 
mon people  were  benches.  For  such  as  we  there 
were  small  wooden  stalls  containing  cane-seated 
chairs  at  the  side  of  the  stage.  We  stayed  only 
long  enough  to  see  what  the  show  was  like,  and 
then  drove  about  town  to  all  the  principal  churches. 
There  are  open  squares  in  front  of  almost  all  of 
the  Manila  churches,  and  they  were  crowded  with 
persons  of  all  conditions  except  just  the  element  we 
should  at  home  find  in  such  places — the  rough  ele- 
ment. Anyone,  a  woman,  or  even  a  girl  alone, 
could  have  gone  anywhere  as  we  did  without  fear 
of  rude  treatment  from  the  natives.  The  "  tough  " 
class  was  represented  by  soldiers  from  the  United 
States  and  a  few  of  our  countrymen,  who  considered 
it  funny  to  "  talk  Spanish  "  to  native  women.  One 
trio  of  well-dressed  young  Americans  were  driving 
about  the  streets,  lolling  back  in  their  carriage  and 
singing  or  shouting  at  the  passers-by. 

The  Christmas  Eve  masses  and  brilliant  decora- 
tions of  the  churches  attracted  large  numbers  of 
persons,  and  we  could  seldom  push  our  way  further 
than  just  inside  the  doors.  I  am  always  impressed 
at  the  season  of  festivals  with  the  refined  and  ex- 
quisite taste  the  Filipinos  show  in  all  their  decora- 

197 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

tions.  The  churches  are  never  decked  out  in  the 
tawdry  adornments  we  see  in  other  countries,  but 
color  and  light  are  blended,  and  the  effect  is  always 
beautiful.  Everywhere  the  Natividad  was  repre- 
sented in  miniature  as  in  Europe,  and  here,  as  there, 
attracted  a  crowd  of  round-eyed  children  carrying 
small  babies  to  view  the  wonder.  Outside,  the  scene 
was  scarcely  less  brilliant,  for  hundreds  of  booths 
lighted  with  candles  filled  the  square,  in  which  all 
imaginable  articles,  toys,  lamps,  trays,  and  vases, 
were  gambled  for  or  bought  by  the  crowd.  There 
are  other  attractions  for  those  who  have  ten  centa- 
vos  to  spare — shooting  galleries,  picture  galleries, 
and  one  called  the  animatiscope.  It  came  from 
Paris,  and  was  very  good.  The  scenes  were  col- 
ored, and  it  was  sometimes  almost  impossible  to 
believe  the  figures  were  only  light  reflections.  One 
incident  occurred  in  this  place  which  shows  how 
well  known  Governor  Taft  is  to  the  common  people. 
The  place  was  crowded  with  natives,  who  expressed 
their  emotions  unabashed  as  the  moving  pictures 
were  thrown  on  the  screen.  One  series  depicted  a 
prize  fight  in  a  realistic  manner,  a  thin,  wiry  cham- 
pion taking  off  the  honors  against  all  comers  until 
an  immense  pugilist  of  the  John  Sullivan  type  en- 
tered the  contest,  and  with  a  few  well-directed  blows 
laid  the  thin  man  low.  The  moment  the  stout 
pugilist  was  thrown  on  the  screen  an  exclamation 
ran  all  through  the  room,  "  El  Gobernador  Taft ! 

198 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

El  Gobernador  Taft !  "  and  a  storm  of  applause 
greeted  every  well-directed  blow.  "  Los  espanoles," 
I  heard  one  man  say,  pointing  to  the  thin  and  van- 
quished champion,  whom  the  stout  pugilist  finished 
by  sitting  on  him  till  he  totally  disappeared.  We 
amused  ourselves  immensely  at  this  show,  and  then 
tried  our  luck,  or  rather  "  unluck,"  in  the  shooting 
gallery. 

The  company  with  whom  I  was  taking  the  huelga 
consisted  of  several  Filipino  girls  and  a  couple  of 
respected  native  members  of  the  Manila  bar.  None 
of  these  young  people  seemed  to  take  the  least  in- 
terest in  the  church  ceremonies  as  religious  celebra- 
tions. Two  of  the  girls  would  not  enter  the  doors 
of  the  Dominican  or  Franciscan  churches ;  they  were 
so  opposed  to  the  friars.  It  is  too  bad  that  so  many 
of  the  better-educated  Filipinos  distrust  all  the 
clergy  on  account  of  their  hatred  of  the  friars.  At 
one  o'clock  we  terminated  our  huelga  at  a  restaurant 
on  the  Escolta,  a  place  unknown  to  me  and  to  most 
Americans,  I  suspect,  where  a  delicious  French  sup- 
per was  served,  including  baby  lobsters,  wild  boar, 
ices,  and  champagne.  At  three  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing we  all  drove  up  to  our  house,  where  I  parted 
with  many  Christmas  greetings  from  my  Filipino 
friends. 

Early  Christmas  morning  we  distributed  our 
gifts  to  each  other,  and  to  the  waiting  house  serv- 
ants and  coachmen.  The  guard  came  in  for  cigars. 

199 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

The  newspaper  boys,  postman,  and  others  presented 
poems  which  were  cheap  at  fifty  cents  apiece.  As 
our  aguinaldos  from  friends  began  to  arrive,  we 
learned  the  messengers  expected  a  pesata  apiece, 
and  there  was  a  loud  demand  for  silver  coins.  Our 
old  toothless  cook  produced  a  bag  of  coppers,  which 
he  exchanged  for  gold,  and  we  loaded  down  the 
bronze-skinned  Mercuries  with  pockets  full  of  cen- 
tavos.  In  the  evening  we  ate  a  cold-storage  turkey 
from  Australia.  Our  guests  were  a  number  of  sec- 
retaries and  school  teachers. 

MANILA,  December  31,  1901. 

A/'OUR  letter  inquiring  about  the  Samar  affair 
-*•  and  the  "  real  truth  "  about  the  success  of  civil 
government  arrived  to-day,  and,  although  I  am  in 
the  hurry  of  moving,  I  will  free  my  mind  at  once 
on  that  subject.  The  newspapers  are  misled  by  the 
reports  of  the  associated  press  correspondent,  who 
is  not  only  pro-military,  but  is  bitterly  opposed  to 
the  civil  government.  All  occurrences  which  can  be 
construed  as  indicating  weakness  in  the  latter  are 
telegraphed  directly  to  America,  and  the  desirability 
of  a  return  to  the  military  regime  advocated.  All 
we  can  say  with  respect  to  the  civil  government  is 
"  wait."  At  present  it  seems  successful  to  those 
who  were  staggered  at  the  task  which  had  been  set 
them,  but  as  I  have  heard  el  Sefior  say  so  often, 
"  only  time  can  prove  the  wisdom  or  folly  of  laws 

200 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

and  institutions  made  by  men  who  are  groping  al- 
most in  the  dark,  but  who  are  working  earnestly  for 
the  best  interests  of  the  Filipinos." 

As  to  the  Samar  affair,  from  which  so  much  de- 
rogatory to  civil  rule  is  being  deduced,  it  should  be 
said  the  island  never  was  under  civil  government. 
It  has  always  been  under  military  rule,  and  was 
never  pacified  under  the  Spaniards.  No  province 
where  the  Commission  was  itself  satisfied  that  the 
natives  were  ready  for  civil  government  has  re- 
volted. Batangas  was  never  pacified,  and  it  was 
only  on  the  express  recommendation  of  the  military 
governor,  and  against  the  judgment  of  the  Com- 
mission, that  the  province  was  organized  by  them. 
The  insurrectos  were  shooting  into  the  town  when 
the  Commission  visited  it.  The  native  constabulary 
has  not  yet  proved  itself  treacherous,  as  was  pre- 
dicted, nor  have  the  native  scouts  betrayed  their 
officers.  In  many  places  the  withdrawing  of  troops 
has  been  the  quickest  way  to  insure  peace,  and  their 
presence  is  often  a  menace  to  friendly  relations.  I 
told  you  of  the  feeling  in  Malolos,  and  only  a  short 
time  since  a  wholesale  revolt  was  reported  in  a 
southern  district,  and  the  story  was  magnified  as  it 
was  sent  to  America.  On  investigation  it  was 
shown  that  the  insurrection  consisted  in  the  entire 
population  of  a  small  town  taking  to  the  mountains ; 
the  captain  in  command  of  the  troops  stationed  there 
had  brought  in  two  friars,  and  given  the  church 

201 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

over  to  them.  The  average  second  lieutenant  who 
comes  to  the  Philippines  would  like  to  go  home  a 
brigadier  general,  and  he  naturally  can't  do  it  if  he 
does  only  garrison  duty.  I  don't  say  the  officers 
consciously  try  to  stir  up  trouble,  but  many  of  the 
younger  ones,  and  especially  the  civil  appointees, 
show  no  judgment  and  little  sympathy  in  their  deal- 
ings with  the  natives.  They  can't  understand  why 
they  are  not  able  to  manage  the  civil  as  well  as  the 
military  affairs  of  the  district  in  which  they  are 
quartered. 

The  events  just  prior  to  the  departure  of  Gover- 
nor Taft  for  America  furnished  a  proof  of  the  popu- 
larity of  the  established  civil  government.  The 
Malacanan  was  crowded  with  deputations  and  com- 
mittees and  representatives  of  all  classes,  anxious  to 
have  from  the  governor's  own  lips  a  promise  that 
he  would  return  to  the  Islands.  Rumors  have 
sprung  up  among  the  natives  that  he  will  not  come 
back.  I  have  been  asked  again  and  again  by  intelli- 
gent persons  if  this  were  true,  and  even  my  "  China  " 
boy  said  the  other  day :  "  Market  man  he  say  gov'- 
ner  no  come  back,  everybody  all  same  fighty  bime 
bye."  Luis,  our  head  coachman,  an  honest,  faithful 
Ilocano,  came  upstairs  last  week,  twisting  his  hat 
and  rubbing  his  toes  together,  to  tell  me  that  if  "el 
gobernador  "  did  not  come  back  he  would  return 
to  his  native  town,  which  is  in  the  mountains  of  the 
north.  A  possible  way  in  which  these  rumors  orig- 

202 


AN   OFFICIAL'S   WIFE 

inate  is  suggested  by  something  which  happened  the 
other  day  at  the  Oriente  Hotel.  A  newly  arrived 
officer  was  in  the  barroom  talking  politics  when  one 
of  the  private  secretaries  of  the  acting  civil  gover- 
nor entered  and  was  introduced.  "  Oh !  secretary 
of  the  civil  governor,  are  you!  Well,  that  civil 
business  will  be  in  our  hands  Before  the  year  is  out." 
This  anecdote,  related  to  me  by  the  secretary  him- 
self, naturally  goes  the  rounds  of  the  clubs,  and, 
exaggerated  of  course,  filters  into  the  ranks  of  the 
natives.  Can't  you  understand  how  delicate  a  prob- 
lem this  is  out  here,  dealing  with  a  timid,  credulous, 
and  terrified  people  who  don't  dare  trust  us  or  each 
other  ? 

MANILA,  January  2,  1902. 

WE  began  moving  this  morning,  and  I  had  no 
idea  there  were  so  many  things  in  the  house. 
We  bought  the  furniture  from  the  owner  several 
months  ago,  and  it  is  a  poor  lot  of  stuff,  all  except- 
ing some  carved  chairs  and  an  immense  Filipino 
carved  bed.  However,  the  new  house  is  large 
enough  to  contain  ten  times  the  amount  of  our  fur- 
niture. The  manner  of  moving  in  Manila  is  unique. 
Each  article  is  slung  on  a  pole,  or  poles,  and  carried 
by  coolies  piece  by  piece.  You  can  see  that  a  house 
flitting  is  a  slow  process  in  the  tropics.  One  big 
wardrobe  was  brought  from  the  shop  by  ten  men, 
and  it  will  take  that  number  to  carry  it  to  the  new 
14  203 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

house.  Don't  imagine,  however,  that  the  house  is 
near  completion.  The  bedrooms  and  dining  room 
are  habitable,  but  the  papering  and  painting  are  only 
in  a  state  of  spasmodic  progress.  The  hall  and 
drawing  rooms  are  only  begun.  We  discovered  un- 
der whitewash  some  beautiful  gold-leaf  capitals  to 
the  Corinthian  pilasters  in  our  hall  and  drawing 
room,  so  we  are  decorating  it  in  cream  and  white. 
The  rooms  are  palatial  in  size,  and  finely  propor- 
tioned. One  might  entertain  forty  guests  in  the 
dining  room.  White  ants  have  destroyed  much  of 
the  furniture,  and  I  have  abandoned  a  number  of 
pieces  on  that  account.  In  one  dark  closet,  the  dis- 
used wine  cellar,  I  put  my  hand  on  a  shelf,  and  it 
crumbled  into  dust.  Many  of  the  bins  and  shelves 
in  the  kitchen  were  in  that  condition.  We  have 
made  many  changes,  taking  out  partitions,  cutting 
doors  in  places,  and  removing  several  cartloads  of 
trash,  precious,  no  doubt,  to  those  who  own  it,  but 
impossible  in  a  house  like  this,  which  must  be  se- 
verely simple  to  carry  out  its  style.  Japanese  fans 
and  lacquer  panels  hardly  adorn  the  walls  of  a  room 
sixty  feet  long  and  twenty  feet  high.  One  curious 
feature  in  the  furnishing  was  swinging  half  doors 
with  painted  burlap  panels.  These  were  placed 
within  the  large  doors,  like  the  screens  with  "  push  " 
hung  within  beer-saloon  doors  in  America.  I  can't 
imagine  what  they  were  for,  for  they  did  not  in  the 
least  conceal  the  legs  and  heads  of  persons  behind 

204 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

them.  They  were  removed,  and  our  reception  hall 
no  longer  suggests  a  whisky  joint.  I  suspect  we 
shall  be  two  weeks  moving,  and  I  am  not  hurrying, 
as  I  am  somewhat  ill  with  a  sore  throat.  It  does 
not,  however,  confine  me  to  the  house. 


123  CALLE  CONCEPCION,  January  14,  1902. 

YOU  will  be  glad  to  know  that  we  have  at  last 
moved,  but  at  present  writing  I  must  confess 
that  the  disagreeable  features  of  the  transition  are 
in  the  ascendant.  We  have  been  ten  days  in  the 
house,  and  we  are  no  more  settled  than  we  were  the 
first  day.  This  arises  partly  from  our  own  fault, 
as  I  was  taken  ill  the  day  before  we  moved,  and 
went  to  bed  with  a  trained  nurse  to  care  for  me. 
On  the  day  I  was  suffering  most,  Ethel  came.  She 
decided  at  the  last  moment  to  leave  her  party  at 
Hongkong,  visit  me,  and  join  them  in  Colombo. 
It  was  a  terrible  disappointment  to  have  everything 
upset,  and  not  to  be  able  to  move  during  her  visit. 
Fraulein  was  attentive,  and  showed  her  some  few 
things,  but  she  missed  the  cream  of  the  season,  the 
Christmas  holidays.  Just  before  she  came  a  number 
of  interesting  functions  took  place.  There  was  a 
New  Year's  ball  at  the  International  Club,  where  all 
the  mestiza  society  were  present  in  their  jewels  and 
gorgeous  costumes.  I  wish  a  first-class  artist,  like 
Sargent,  could  paint  some  of  these  girls.  Dona 

205 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

Maria  was  a  picture  in  gold-colored  brocade,  with 
camisa  and  panuela  of  the  same  shade  exquisitely 
painted  and  embroidered.  Little  Mrs.  Heredia 
sparkled  like  a  small  electric  tower.  She  wore  a 
white-spangled  tulle  dress  from  Paris,  and  her  cele- 
brated pearl  and  diamond  necklace.  Filipinos'  man- 
ners are  good.  They  always  keep  within  the  formal 
line.  This  is  more  than  many  Americans  know  how 
to  do. 

You  benighted  people  have  never  heard,  I  sup- 
pose, of  the  great  Filipino  hero,  Jose  Rizal.  Being 
a  dead  hero,  it  is  quite  safe  to  eulogize  him.  My 
own  opinion  is  that,  were  he  alive  now,  he  would 
be  an  insurrecto.  All  the  orators  are  telling  us  what 
he  would  have  done  and  said  at  this  juncture.  The 
Federal  party  says  that  he  would  have  been  a  peace- 
party  delegate.  The  Americans  call  him  the  Wash- 
ington of  the  Archipelago.  I  often  wonder  what 
George  Washington  would  think  if  he  found  his 
name  pinned  on  Aguinaldo  and  other  "  liberators." 
The  Filipino  people  wish  to  raise  a  monument  to  Ri- 
zal, so  they  first  asked  the  Commission  to  subscribe, 
and  have  already  raised  two  thousand  dollars,  Mexi- 
can, seventeen  hundred  of  which  was  subscribed  pri- 
vately by  the  members  of  the  Commission  and  civil 
authorities.  The  committee  wish  to  raise  one  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars,  but  I  doubt  if  they  can  do  it. 
On  the  thirtieth  day  of  December  they  held  a  memo- 
rial service  in  the  Zorilla  Theater.  It  was  a  gay  af- 

206 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

fair  in  spite  of  the  funeral  marches.  The  boxes  were 
packed,  and  society  was  out  in  full  dress.  A  gayer 
scene  could  hardly  be  witnessed  anywhere.  There 
were  also  exercises  on  the  Luneta,  the  anniversary 
of  the  day  Rizal  was  shot.  It  was  early  in  the 
morning.  There  were  flags  and  wreaths,  and  hun- 
dreds of  banana  trees  were  set  in  the  ground  as 
decoration.  In  the  center  of  the  band  square  was 
a  broken  shaft  with  a  little  fence  around  it,  like  a 
grave  in  a  cemetery.  Every  barrio  in  town  brought 
a  wreath.  Buencamino  made  a  speech  in  the  ver- 
nacular, and  others  spoke  in  Spanish.  There  were 
thousands  of  Filipinos  on  the  Luneta,  but  only  a  few 
Americans.  In  the  evening  the  Carmonas  took  me 
to  the  Rizal  Theater.  It  was  an  awful  place.  There 
were  six  hundred  persons  crowded  in  an  immense 
barn,  and  but  one  small  exit.  It  made  me  nervous, 
especially  as  the  stage  was  decorated  with  lanterns 
and  bamboo,  and  a  dozen  small  boys  frolicked  about 
behind  the  scenes.  I  remained  about  half  an  hour, 
and  then  told  Sefior  Carmona  that  I  was  sure  I 
should  faint  if  I  stayed  in  the  heated  air  any  longer, 
and  rose  and  went  home.  I  did  not  feel  embar- 
rassed to  leave  my  entertainers,  for  the  girls'  pleas- 
ure in  having  the  wife  of  a  member  of  the  Commis- 
sion in  their  box  was  added  to  by  the  sensation  I 
created  parading  down  the  theater  in  the  middle  of 
the  play  escorted  by  the  chief  of  police,  who  hap- 
pened to  sit  near  us. 

207 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

The  acting  governor  gave  a  New  Year's  recep- 
tion at  Malacanan.  There  was  a  big  crush;  over 
six  hundred  guests  came  during  the  evening.  It 
began  about  five  o'clock,  and  an  officer  told  me  that 
there  was  a  scramble  on  the  part  of  the  represent- 
atives of  the  army  and  navy  each  to  get  in  ahead 
of  the  other.  I  don't  know  how  true  the  stories  of 
the  rivalry  between  army  and  navy  are,  but  they  are 
always  floating  about.  Last  winter,  at  General  Mc- 
Arthur's  New  Year's  reception,  the  papers  said  that 
several  persons  left  the  palace  without  going  in, 
because  they  had  not  been  assigned  to  their  proper 
places.  This  year  I  think  it  was  a  "  go-as-you- 
please  "  affair ;  at  all  events,  the  guests  were  not 
kept  shut  up  in  a  room  half  an  hour,  and  let  out 
into  the  reception  room  according  to  rank,  as  they 
were  last  year.  To  say,  however,  that  the  love  of 
rank  has  not  invaded  the  civilian  breast  is  not  true, 
for  I  heard  two  ladies  earnestly  discussing  whether 
the  wife  of  the  auditor  ought  to  precede  the  wife 
of  the  postmaster,  or  vice  versa.  That  certain  per- 
sons leave  good  manners  behind  them  even  on  for- 
mal occasions  like  an  official  New  Year's  reception 
was  proved  many  times  to-day,  when  certain  Amer- 
icans shook  hands  with  the  white  members  of  the 
reception  party  and  passed  the  Filipinos  by  without 
recognition  of  any  kind.  It  is  wearying  to  stand 
three  hours  shaking  hands,  and  I  think  to  exhaustion 
as  much  as  to  anything  else  was  due  my  illness  of 

208 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

last  week.     The  weather  is  still  fresh,  so  cool  at 
night  that  I  sleep  under  a  blanket. 

MANILA,  February  i,  1902. 

THE  house  is  still  unsettled,  but  we  hope  that 
next  week  everything  will  be  in  order.  The 
days  pass  quickly  in  superintending  the  coolies  who 
clean  the  floors  and  arrange  the  furniture.  There 
is  much  more  to  do  at  this  house  than  at  Calle  San 
Jose,  so  we  have  added  two  Filipino  boys  to  our 
servant  corps  to  polish  the  mahogany  floors  and 
dust  the  furniture.  They  need  constant  watching, 
but  are  merry  little  fellows,  and  enjoy  the  skating 
back  and  forth  over  the  mirrorlike  surfaces;  at 
least  they  are  always  playing  jokes  on  each  other 
and  giggling.  I  have  discovered,  too,  that  I  can 
appeal  to  their  vanity  to  induce  them  to  work,  for 
they  adore  brass  buttons,  and  the  promise  of  a  white 
duck  livery  with  boots  and  buttons  is  so  effective 
that  the  floors  are  becoming  dangerous ;  they  are  as 
slippery  as  ice.  Since  moving  into  this  house  all 
the  servants  have  larger  quarters.  The  five  Chinese 
have  a  big  room  by  themselves,  and  there  are  half  a 
dozen  small  rooms  where  the  Filipinos  spread  their 
mats. 

Ever  since  we  came  to  Manila  we  have  obsti- 
nately set  our  faces  against  the  Filipino  habit  of 
introducing  the  relatives  of  servants  into  the  house. 
Our  first  question  on  interviewing  a  Filipino  for 

209 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

any  position  was,  "  Have  you  a  wife  ?  "  and  "  Yes  " 
was  cause  for  immediate  rejection.  'So,  day  before 
yesterday,  great  was  my  astonishment  when  Luis, 
whom  we  all  considered  a  confirmed  bachelor,  came 
up  the  stairs  in  a  state  of  tearful  despair,  dragging 
a  ragged  little  girl  behind  him  also  weeping.  After 
much  incoherent  explanation  it  transpired  that  "  el 
Senor  Commissionado "  had  given  orders  to  the 
guard  that  no  Filipino,  man  or  woman,  who  was 
hot  employed  on  the  place  should  be  admitted,  and 
that  he,  Luis,  had  been  married  three  weeks,  and 
had  hidden  his  bride  in  a  cubbyhole  downstairs,  but 
that  the  prowling  guard  had  discovered  her  and 
wanted  to  turn  her  out.  This  was  confirmed  by  the 
guard,  who  had  just  found  an  ancient  female  and 
an  old  man  in  a  far-away  corner  of  the  premises, 
who  were  acknowledged  as  the  father  and  mother 
of  the  sixteen-year-old  bride.  It  did  not  seem  to 
occur  to  Luis  that  el  Senor  had  not  the  power 
forcibly  to  separate  man  and  wife,  nor  did  he 
threaten  to  betake  himself  and  his  relations  to  an- 
other, more  lenient  master.  He  only  begged  me  not 
to  let  "  el  Senor  "  take  her  away,  for  he  liked  her 
very  much,  and  would  keep  her  hidden  all  the  time 
so  we  should  never  see  her.  During  the  discussion 
the  bride  was  sniveling,  and  the  two  old  ones, 
dragged  from  their  retreat  by  the  big  guard,  were 
twisting  their  toes  and  gazing  at  me  as  if  I  were 
their  judge  in  a  trial  for  their  lives.  At  last  I  could 

210 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

stand  it  no  longer,  and,  much  to  the  disapproval  of 
the  guard,  I  began  to  laugh.  At  once  a  magic 
change  came  over  the  company,  and  my  laughter 
was  reflected  in  their  faces;  the  sniveling  of  the 
bride  ceased,  and  she  raised  two  very  big  black  eyes 
to  my  face,  while  Luis,  taking  my  levity  for  consent, 
began  to  shower  me  with  mil  gracias.  The  other 
Filipinos  and  the  Chinamen  had  come  to  assist  at 
the  negotiations,  for  in  these  patriarchal  households 
all  the  servants  participate  in  everything  of  interest, 
and  Lai  Ting  sagely  remarked :  "  She  no  mush 
double,  velly  small  girl." 

The  barrier  is  now  down,  and  the  number  of 
parientes  will  gradually  increase.  The  term  pari- 
entes  will,  moreover,  be  liberally  construed  like  Chi- 
nese "  cousin,"  and  will  include  anyone  without  a 
place  to  live.  I  shall  now  expect  Hieronomo  and 
Esteban,  who  are  respectively  sixteen  and  fourteen, 
to  take  wives  unto  themselves.  Luis  assured  me 
that  his  bride  was  his  real  wife,  and  that  it  cost  him 
ten  pesos  to  get  married.  I  suspect  Lai  Ting's  ap- 
proval was  not  altogether  disinterested,  for  I  saw 
Anna,  the  new  wife,  peeling  potatoes  for  the  cook 
this  morning;  no  doubt  he  gives  her  scraps  from 
the  kitchen  in  return.  I  persuaded  el  Sefior  it  was 
narrow-minded  to  force  our  customs  on  these  peo- 
ple, where  the  principles  of  government  were  not 
involved,  and  that  Luis  is  the  only  coachman  who 
can  manage  our  black  horses.  They  kick  everyone 

211 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

who  comes  near  them,  and  one  of  them  bit  a  piece 
out  of  the  leg  of  Auria's  pony  the  other  night. 
Sometimes  they  make  night  hideous  stamping  and 
squealing,  so  prudence  points  to  conforming  our- 
selves to  the  Filipino  custom  of  housing  paricntes. 

I  am  going  to  give  a  big  card  party  next  week  to 
open  the  house.  There  are  invitations  out  for  din- 
ners and  receptions  in  large  numbers  for  this  week, 
as  Lent  will  close  all  festivities  for  a  time,  much  to 
the  relief  of  everyone.  There  is  no  "  season  "  in  the 
tropics,  and  one  has  to  entertain  all  the  year. 

MANILA,  February  n,  1902. 

/TVUESDAY  evening  I  went  to  a  masked  ball,  and 
-*-  it  proved  that  some  persons  found  "  loot  "  in 
Pekin  if  we  did  not.  There  were  numbers  of 
gorgeous  mandarin  robes,  and  the  affair  was  orien- 
tal and  beautiful.  Auria  has  gone  to  the  Luneta  to 
throw  confetti,  as  it  is  Mardi  Gras,  and  the  children 
are  having  a  little  carnival.  Don  Tomas,  my  in- 
formant concerning  all  things  social,  came  to  call, 
followed  by  his  servant  carrying  a  little  mandarin 
orange  tree  covered  with  fruit,  growing  in  a  fancy 
pot,  as  a  carnival  gift.  He  says  this  season  used  to 
be  very  gay  under  the  Spaniards,  and  that  the  Lu- 
neta was  always  crowded  with  masqueraders.  It 
has  been  too  cold  for  comfort  to-day.  I  really 
longed  for  a  cheerful  little  hearth  and  a  fire;  the 
mosquitoes  were  almost  torpid. 

212 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

There  has  been  an  effort  made  here  lately  to  start 
a  riksha  company,  and  we  thought  it  would  suc- 
ceed, but  the  Chinese  and  Japanese  consuls  and  citi- 
zens have  protested  against  "  making  beasts  of  hu- 
man beings,"  and  the  company  cannot  get  coolies  to 
pull  the  rikshas.  The  rikshas  are,  I  hear,  still  in  the 
customs  house.  The  English  consul  uses  one,  and 
his  coolies  seem  quite  as  human  as  some  of  the 
dirty  bare-legged  drivers  who  beat  broken-down 
ponies  about  the  streets.  An  automobile  company, 
too,  has  started  a  bus,  but  the  fares  are  too  high  to 
make  it  popular.  There  are  several  private  ma- 
chines in  town,  as  I  know  to  my  cost.  One  so 
frightened  our  ponies  yesterday  that  they  ran  away 
and  broke  the  harness.  Only  the  skill  of  Luis  saved 
us  from  a  general  smash-up,  and  I  am  glad  we  let 
him  keep  his  wife.  This  winter  a  great  many  offi- 
cers are  driving  American  horses  in  imported  rigs. 
The  ladies  wear  hats  on  the  Luneta,  and  the  white 
duck  skirt  and  white  waist  are  no  longer  fine  enough 
for  morning  wear.  It  is  too  bad.  One  can't  enjoy 
a  tropical  climate  in  hats  and  gloves. 

MANILA,  February  24,  1902. 

'T^HE  unprecedented  cold  weather  has  led  the  Fil- 
-*-  ipinos  to  believe  the  end  of  the  world  is  at 
hand,  and  as  usual  they  lay  it  to  the  coming  of  the 
Americans.  They  say  we  have  brought  the  cold 
weather  with  us. 

213 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

I  have  just  received  a  unique  gift  from  a  Filipino 
friend,  a  quarter  of  hot  roast  pig  with  a  delicious 
green  sauce.  As  it  is  only  ten  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing I  do  not  know  what  to  do  with  it,  but  Lai  Ting 
says  he  will  take  care  of  it.  A  look  in  that  heathen's 
eye  reminds  me  that  roast  pig  was  invented  in 
China. 

We  discourage  the  regalo,  or  gift  habit,  so  in- 
grained in  the  native  character,  but  one  can't  return 
hot  roast  pig  to  his  friends.  Yesterday  an  English 
acquaintance  sent  us  a  big  basket  of  vegetables  from 
Hongkong.  There  were  cabbages,  turnips,  car- 
rots, cauliflower,  brussels  sprouts,  and  beets.  That 
sounds  prosaic  enough,  doesn't  it?  But,  after  the 
tinned-vegetable  diet,  cabbage  is  a  delicacy,  4likewise 
corned  beef. 

We  went  to  a  ball  the  other  night  in  honor  of 
George  Washington's  birthday,  given  by  the  Federal 
party  in  the  International  Club  rooms.  The  place 
was  decorated  with  the  usual  taste  which  distin- 
guishes the  Filipinos.  They  make  use  of  garlands 
exactly  like  those  in  the  fifteenth-century  Italian 
paintings.  The  greenery  is  of  a  fine-foliaged  plant, 
and  brilliant  flowers  are  tied  in  among  the  leaves. 
Hundreds  of  yards  of  garlands  are  often  used  on 
festive  occasions.  I  wore  a  mestiza  costume,  which 
caused  the  elderly  Filipinos,  ancient  judges,  and  dig- 
nitaries to  overwhelm  me  with  compliments.  There 
was,  as  usual,  an  elaborate  supper.  On  a  corner  of 

214 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

the  invitations  were  the  words  "  rigorosa  etiqueta," 
meaning  that  no  one  would  be  admitted  who  did  not 
wear  a  dress  suit.  This  was  explained  to  me  by 
one  of  the  managers,  who  said  that  whenever  they 
gave  a  ball,  about  supper  time  a  crowd  of  Ameri- 
cans, I  confess  it  with  mortification,  were  in  the 
habit  of  coming  in  uninvited  in  khaki  suits,  mak- 
ing themselves  disagreeable  by  their  disregard  of 
the  common  rules  of  politeness.  Isn't  it  a  pity  that 
a  few  rude  boors  can  so  disgrace  the  country  ? 

I  think  our  people  are  too  offhand  with  the  Fili- 
pinos. Many  quite  nice  Americans  will  take  liber- 
ties in  the  way  of  going  with  friends  to  houses 
where  they  are  unbidden.  The  other  evening  I  saw 
a  number  of  persons  who  "  just  came  along  with 
the  crowd,"  as  they  openly  confessed,  and  in  conse- 
quence the  champagne  fell  short,  and  the  master  of 
ceremonies,  whom  I  knew  quite  well,  was  covered 
with  confusion,  for  it  was  too  late  at  night  to  get 
any  more.  "  Sefiora,"  he  said  in  excuse  for  ap- 
parent inhospitality,  "  there  are  nearly  fifty  guests 
here  to-night  who  were  not  invited."  These  are 
unimportant  facts,  but  they  might  possibly  help  to 
throw  light  on  the  statement  so  often  made  by 
Americans  returning  home,  "  that  the  Filipinos  do 
not  like  us." 

The  Americans  celebrated  Washington's  birthday 
with  the  Amateur  Racing  Association.  There  were 
mule  races,  and  pony  races,  and  very  bad  hurdle 

215 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

races.  The  betting  was  so  universal  that,  seeing  one 
of  the  major  generals  present  without  a  book,  I 
asked  in  surprise,  "  Don't  you  bet,  general  ?  "  "  No, 
madame,  I  believe  in  setting  a  good  example  to  the 
younger  officers,  and  the  horses  are  no  good."  It 
rained,  and  was  cold  all  the  afternoon,  which  some- 
what spoiled  the  effect  of  the  gay  scene. 

Last  night  I  was  awakened  by  a  sound  like  a 
fusillade  of  pistols.  I  jumped  out  of  bed  and  ran 
into  the  hall,  where  I  found  a  crowd  of  half-awake, 
trembling,  wild-eyed  domestics  frightened  out  of 
their  senses.  "  Insurrectos,  insurrectos ! "  they 
wailed.  I  thought  so  myself,  and  called  to  the 
guard  to  know  what  was  the  matter.  It  was  a  big 
fire  in  a  Filipino  barrio  near  by,  and  the  revolver- 
like  explosions  were  the  bamboo  poles,  of  which  all 
the  native  houses  are  made,  bursting  open  with  the 
heat.  It  was  exactly  like  a  succession  of  pistol  shots. 
The  fire  spread  rapidly,  and  was  so  fierce  that  I 
thought  our  house  might  take  fire.  I  do  not  sup- 
pose there  was  really  any  danger  of  our  house  burn- 
ing, but  in  the  middle  of  the  night  it  seemed  so. 
We  all  dressed  and  went  out  on  the  sidewalk,  where 
the  natives  were  gathering  from  the  burning  barrio. 
The  sight  was  both  funny  and  sad.  A  Filipino 
house  burns  so  rapidly  that  the  inhabitants  have 
only  time  to  seize  the  nearest  articles  and  save 
themselves.  So  we  found  our  sidewalk  filled  With 
old  women  and  babies,  men  and  small  boys,  laden 

216 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

with  the  most  nondescript  collection  of  household 
goods.  Some  sat  on  chairs  or  stools  clasping  a 
bundle  of  rags  in  their  arms.  One  woman  had  saved 
a  spoon  and  a  broken  rice  bowl.  The  little  earthen 
stoves  in  which  the  coals  are  placed  to  cook  their 
simple  meals  were  clasped  in  the  arms  of  half-clad 
girls  and  boys.  Every  man  had  his  precious  fight- 
ing cock  under  one  arm,  and  not  a  few  held  a  gui- 
tar under  the  other.  There  was  no  complaining 
or  lamenting.  The  round-eyed  babies  sat  gazing 
quietly  at  the  flames,  while  their  mothers  and 
fathers  squatted  on  the  ground,  and  watched  their 
household  goods  disappear  in  smoke  with  an  apathy 
that  was  surprising.  Fortunately,  it  was  not  rain- 
ing, and  the  night  was  warm,  so  before  we  retired 
from  the  scene  half-a-dozen  families  were  preparing 
to  go  to  sleep  in  an  angle  of  our  wall  under  a  cocoa- 
nut  tree.  Auria  enjoyed  the  fire  immensely.  She 
showed  great  presence  of  mind,  too,  when  we  all 
half  believed  the  insurrectos  were  attacking  the 
town.  She  kept  assuring  me  that  there  was  no  dan- 
ger, for  our  guard  had  his  gun. 

This  has  been  a  busy  week.  I  cannot  see  that  the 
Filipinos  or  the  Europeans  keep  Lent  with  any 
strictness.  Cards  are  the  excuse  for  any  number  of 
gay  affairs,  and  dinners  and  luncheons  are  as 
numerous  as  ever. 

I  am  planning  to  take  Auria  and  Fraulein  to 
Japan  during  the  hot  weather,  while  the  schools  are 

217 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

closed  for  the  long  vacation.    We  all  need  a  rest  in 
some  quiet  place. 

MANILA,  February  28,  1902. 

THE  past  week  has  been  spent  in  so  frivolous  a 
manner  that  I  have  nothing  to  write.  The 
only  event  of  importance  was  Lukban's  surrender. 
The  general  feeling  is  a  regret  that  he  did  not  "  die, 
honorably  fighting  for  his  country,"  the  heart's  de- 
sire of  all  the  insurrecto  officers,  if  one  may  believe 
their  eloquent  manifestoes.  It  would  certainly  be 
much  simpler  for  the  army,  for  no  one  seems  to 
know  what  to  do  with  a  captured  insurrecto  gen- 
eral. Aguinaldo  is  living  in  the  former  residence 
of  Commissioner  Worcester.  He  has  dropped  out 
of  sight  in  the  Islands.  Now  and  then  I  hear  of  a 
tourist  who  asks  permission  to  see  him.  He  never 
leaves  the  house  even  with  a  guard,  for  he  is 
afraid  of  being  killed  by  his  enemies.  It  is  reported 
the  friends  of  General  Luna,  whom  he  caused  to  be 
killed,  have  sworn  to  bolo  Aguinaldo  whenever  they 
have  the  opportunity.  He  is  anxious  to  go  to 
America,  and  has  petitioned  the  commanding  gen- 
eral several  times  to  permit  him  to  do  so.  A  Fili- 
pino, formerly  a  member  of  his  cabinet,  told  me  that 
he  visits  Aguinaldo  sometimes,  and  he  seems  inter- 
ested only  in  what  is  being  said  about  him  in  Eu- 
rope and  America.  He  is  disappointed  that  the 
newspapers  pay  no  attention  to  him. 

218 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

The  provinces  have  just  elected  governors  for 
the  first  time,  and  we  are  all  rejoicing  over  the  re- 
sults of  the  election.  You  may  remember  that,  on 
the  establishment  of  civil  government  in  the  Islands, 
the  Commission  appointed  the  provincial  officers. 
Whenever  possible  they  made  a  Filipino  governor, 
but  in  some  places  it  was  not  advisable;  in  others 
the  people  wished  an  American.  The  law  provided 
that  the  people  should,  in  February  of  this  year, 
elect  their  governor.  Almost  everyone  was  pes- 
simistic as  to  the  wisdom  of  this  provision,  and  I 
know  that  Governor  Taft  and  the  Commissioners 
were  anxious  about  the  outcome  of  the  first  elec- 
tion. Isn't  it  rather  remarkable  that  a  people  un- 
accustomed to  the  exercise  of  any  political  right 
should  hold  quiet,  orderly,  and  legal  elections  in 
almost  every  province?  In  most  cases  the  officers 
appointed  last  year  were  reflected.  When  others 
were  substituted  they  were  in  almost  every  case  per- 
sons who  had  been  actively  in  favor  of  the  Ameri- 
can regime.  The  franchise,  you  know,  is  not  ex- 
tended to  all  citizens,  but  an  educational  or  a 
property  qualification  is  the  basis  of  the  right  to 
vote.  A  man  must  either  be  able  to  read  and  write, 
or  be  worth  five  hundred  pesos.  The  success  of  the 
provincial  elections  may  give  a  partial  answer  to 
your  letter  last  month  asking  for  the  "  real  truth  " 
about  the  success  of  civil  government  in  the 
Islands. 

15  219 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

March  15,  1902. 

I  HAVE  written  no  letters  in  two  weeks,  as  Auria 
has  been  ill  with  fever,  and  the  weather  has  been 
abnormally  hot.  Everything  is  dry;  fine  dust  set- 
tles everywhere,  and  the  mosquitoes  are  a  terrible 
pest.  I  spend  most  of  my  time  sitting  under  a  mos- 
quito net  on  my  bed.  The  nights  are  hotter  than 
they  were  last  year.  All  night  long  I  hear  in  a 
half  dream  the  continuous  noise  of  vehicles  passing 
over  the  Ayala  bridge,  or  the  cry  of  the  casco  men 
as  they  float  down  the  river  from  the  Laguna  with 
loads  of  stone  and  cargoes  from  Batangas.  We 
have  been  waiting  to  get  a  stateroom  on  an  outgo- 
ing transport  for  Japan,  but  Auria  has  been  too  ill 
to  go.  Her  blood  does  not  show  malaria;  it  is  not 
dengue,  and,  when  I  call  it  "  plain  fever,"  the  doc- 
tor says  in  a  superior  way  "  there  is  no  such  thing." 
Although  I  am  sorry  for  the  doctor,  who  has  been 
waiting  four  weeks  for  transportation  home,  cooped 
up  in  a  hotel  in  the  walled  city  with  a  wife  and  two 
children,  I  am  glad  he  is  here  to  watch  over  Auria. 

We  went  to  an  exhibition  and  ball  at  the  Nautical 
School  last  night.  There  were  fifty-eight  young 
cadets,  trim  and  jaunty  in  their  uniforms,  and,  in 
spite  of  their  good  looks  and  the  pride  of  their  re- 
lations, they  appeared  surprisingly  modest.  The 
average  young  Filipino,  if  he  has  any  claims  to  good 
looks,  especially  if  he  be  in  a  uniform,  is  somewhat 
trying  by  reason  of  his  conceit.  Anyone  who  has 

220 


had  the  least  smattering  of  an  education  longs  to 
put  on  the  dress  of  a  gentleman  and  become  a  sec- 
retary— an  escribiente,  as  they  call  it.  El  Senor  tells 
a  story  of  a  Filipino  who  had  been  asked  why  the 
trade  schools,  which  had  been  established  to  teach 
carpentry,  mechanics,  and  such  things,  were  not  bet- 
ter attended  by  the  Filipino  boys.  The  man  struck 
an  attitude,  and,  pointing  to  his  arms,  said :  "  Amer- 
icans very  strong  here;  Americans  like  work." 
Then,  raising  his  hand  to  his  head  and  pointing  to 
his  forehead,  continued :  "  Filipinos  very  strong 
here;  Filipinos  like  to  study  books." 

If  Auria  is  better  Saturday  we  shall  leave  on  the 
Thomas  for  Japan.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  sick- 
ness in  town.  The  Worcesters  have  gone  to  the 
Benguet  Mountains,  and  half  the  army  women  here 
are  leaving  for  Japan.  Fortunately,  there  is  little 
or  no  plague  this  spring.  The  war  on  rats  last  year 
has  protected  us  from  it  this  season,  I  hope. 

MANILA,  March  23,  1902. 

T  SUPPOSE  the  correspondents  have  telegraphed 
-*•  to  America  the  news  of  the  outbreak  of  cholera, 
and  that  you  are  imagining  all  sorts  of  horrors.  The 
fact  is  that  after  the  first  uncertainty — during  the 
days  when  the  authorities  suspected  its  existence, 
but  were  hoping  the  disease  would  be  sporadic — we 
were  all  more  or  less  nervous,  but  now  that  we 
know  that  Manila  is  really  in  for  a  siege  of  cholera, 

221 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

everyone  has  calmed  down,  and  is  hard  at  work 
making  the  town  as  sanitary  as  possible.  The  ex- 
citement attending  so  serious  a  situation  as  the  out- 
break of  cholera,  in  a  city  in  which  only  a  few  years 
ago  thirty  thousand  persons  perished  within  three 
months,  keeps  one  from  taking  time  to  be  frightened. 
I  confess  to  a  queer  sensation  in  my  knees,  but  that 
is  excitement,  I  suppose.  At  all  events,  to  watch 
twelve  ignorant,  superstitious  Orientals,  who  are  as 
likely  to  die  of  fright  as  of  cholera,  keeps  me  busy. 
The  doctor,  with  his  wife,  arrived  from  Bohol  the 
day  the  existence  of  cholera  was  definitely  deter- 
mined, and  under  his  direction  we  put  our  house 
into  sanitary  condition  so  far  as  we  could.  The 
odors  are  awful,  but  comforting,  and  the  fact  that 
a  very  little  heat  kills  the  cholera  germ  keeps  up 
our  courage.  We  hosed  off  the  "  China  "  boys  and 
Filipinos  with  disinfectants-,  and  I  made  their  eyes 
stick  out  with  fright  by  describing  a  cholera  germ. 
I  searched  the  dictionary  for  appropriate  terms,  and 
made  such  an  impression  on  the  coachmen  and  their 
parientes  downstairs,  and  on  the  floor  boys,  that  they 
go  about  with  their  mouths  shut  tight,  scarcely  dar- 
ing to  open  them  lest  a  microbio  pop  into  them.  The 
two  little  boys,  I  am  sure,  expect  to  see  them  jump 
out  from  every  dark  corner.  I  told  Lai  Ting: 
"  Cholera  all  same  cockroach,  only  velly  small.  He 
hide  in  dirt,  and  jump  out  to  kill  '  China '  boy  and 
Filipino.  If  '  China  '  boy  keep  house  clean,  no  die." 

222 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

We  are  doing  many  things  just  now  that  seem  like 
overprecaution.  Of  course,  we  eat  only  tinned 
vegetables  and  well-done  meats,  but  in  addition  w^e 
toast  all  the  bread,  heat  all  the  plates,  and  scald  all 
the  glasses  before  every  meal.  We  open  a  fresh  tin 
of  cream  each  meal,  and  have  concluded  to  buy 
tinned  butter.  The  water  is  distilled,  and  the  bot- 
tles in  which  we  keep  it  sterilized.  This  means  con- 
tinuous oversight,  and  at  night  I  am  so  tired  that  I 
have  no  time  to  let  my  imagination  run  riot. 

The  Commission  is  holding  extra  sessions,  and 
everyone  is  working  to  prevent  the  spread  of  the 
disease,  and  get  the  city  in  as  sanitary  a  condition 
as  possible.  It  has  been  divided  into  districts,  in 
each  of  which  there  is  a  chief  surgeon,  under  whom 
are  doctors,  inspectors,  police,  and  helpers.  There 
is  a  house-to-house  inspection,  and  the  nipa  shacks 
in  which  deaths  occur  are  to  be  burned,  because  the 
nipa  hut  cannot  be  properly  disinfected.  The  gov- 
ernment will  pay  the  owners  for  the  property  de- 
stroyed. A  detention  camp  has  been  built  outside 
the  city,  where  it  is  proposed  to  detain  the  inmates 
of  the  houses  where  a  death  from  cholera  has  oc- 
curred. This  quarantine  camp  is  regarded  with 
suspicion  by  the  natives,  who  imagine  all  kinds  of 
horrors  await  them  there.  It  is  difficult  to  manage 
the  lowest  classes,  who  are  the  ones  at  present  in 
the  greatest  danger.  They  instinctively  hide  their 
sick,  and  do  everything  to  avoid  a  quarantine.  Even 

223 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

intelligent  Filipinos  are  disposed  to  conceal  the  fact 
that  a  member  of  their  family  has  cholera.  One 
reason  is  the  prohibition  of  funerals,  and  the  fear 
of  cremation,  which  they  seem  to  think  will  send 
them  straight  to  perdition. 

MANILA,  March  24,  1902. 

TO-DAY  the  surface  wells  are  being  filled,  and 
the  stream  which  supplies  Manila  with  water 
is  guarded  by  soldiers,  from  the  springs  all  along 
its  length  to  the  pumping  station.  In  the  ice  plant 
another  boiler  is  being  installed,  and  thirteen  thou- 
sand gallons  of  distilled  water  a  day  are  to  be  placed 
in  various  parts  of  the  city,  where  all  may  get  it  free 
of  charge.  There  is  a  plan  to  make  vegetables  a 
government  monopoly,  to  be  sold  cooked.  This 
means  a  tremendous  amount  of  work  if  it  is  carried 
out.  Dr.  Bourns  has  charge  of  this  part  of  the 
work,  and  if  the  disease  becomes  alarming  kitchens 
are  to  be  established  where  natives  may  buy  cooked 
vegetables.  Rice  and  potatoes  will  be  sold  as  before, 
for  the  natives  do  not  eat  them  uncooked.  No 
fruits  will  be  brought  into  town.  Already  the  ice- 
cream and  sorbet  makers  are  corraled,  and  are  only 
allowed  to  sell  ices  made  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
cold  storage  and  ice  plant.  We  know  that  the  city 
water  supply  is  not  infected,  as  it  is  examined  every 
day. 

The  disease  was  probably  introduced  from  Hong- 
224 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

kong  in  vegetables,  which  are  imported  in  large 
quantities.  When  the  Hongkong  people  cabled  that 
cholera  had  broken  out,  the  quarantine  authorities 
condemned  and  threw  five  thousand  dollars'  worth 
of  fresh  vegetables  into  the  bay.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  the  disease  existed  before  it  was  made  public, 
and  it  was  started  here  by  some  one  eating  trj,e  con- 
demned vegetables. 

Since  I  wrote  the  preceding  lines  the  doctor  has 
come  home  to  luncheon,  and  reported  three  new 
cases  since  eight  o'clock  this  morning,  and  an  out- 
break in  Bulacan,  a  town  on  the  railroad  north  of 
Manila.  It  will  be  more  difficult  to  deal  with  the 
cholera  in  the  provinces,  because  there  are  few 
Americans  to  work  in  the  sanitary  departments.  It 
was  fine  of  the  doctor,  who  was  on  his  way  home, 
to  give  up  his  trip  to  Japan,  and  stay  here  just  be- 
cause they  needed  him. 

MANILA,  April  4,  1902. 

A  S  we  are  going  to  Benguet  to-morrow  morning, 
•£*•  and  as  the  mails  from  there  are  uncertain,  I'll 
write  a  few  lines  now  to  send  on  the  Peru  to- 
morrow. 

We  are  still  fighting  the  cholera,  but,  as  the 
natives  persist  in  hiding  the  sick,  the  number  of 
cases  is  increasing.  The  Board  of  Health  is  burn- 
ing whole  districts  where  the  shacks  are  in  a  filthy 
condition.  It  is  hard  for  the  natives;  they  are  be- 

225 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

wildered,  and  cannot  understand  the  reason  for  it. 
Some  one  said  the  other  night  that  the  natives  were 
more  afraid  of  the  sanitary  inspector  than  of  the 
cholera.  Sometimes,  when  I  think  of  our  rough 
ways  of  doing  things,  I  feel  an  intense  pity  for  these 
poor  people,  who  are  being  what  we  call  "  civilized  " 
by  main  force.  Of  course,  in  the  cholera  time  it  is 
for  their  immediate  good,  and  the  government  pays 
for  their  houses  and  their  goods,  yet  they  cannot 
understand  it,  and  it  seems  an  act  of  tyranny 
worse  than  that  of  the  Spaniards.  In  spite  of 
all  my  lectures  and  my  practice,  our  Chinese  do 
not  understand  the  first  principles  of  sanitary 
cleanliness.  Last  week  I  was  standing  over  Lai 
Ting,  who  was  filling  bottles  with  distilled  water 
after  having  sterilized  them;  one  of  the  bottles 
being  a  little  hot,  he  turned  to  the  faucet,  and 
began  to  cool  it  with  city  water.  I  was  discour- 
aged. A  number  of  Europeans  have  died  since 
the  outbreak  of  the  disease,  but  in  every  case  they 
have  been  of  a  low  class,  and  had  lived  in  filthy  sur- 
roundings. 

We  think  Benguet  will  be  a  better  place  for  Auria 
than  Japan,  and  at  present  the  transports  are  held 
in  the  bay  five  days  before  sailing,  as  the  authorities 
fear  an  outbreak  on  shipboard.  We  shall  go  to 
Dagupan  by  rail,  and  from  there  by  ambulance  to 
Naguilian.  There  we  shall  take  to  the  trail  with 
Igorroto  carriers  and  ponies.  The  heat  here  is  in- 

226 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

tense  and  debilitating,  and  the  doctor  has  ordered 
Auria  away  from  the  coast. 

The  Commission  has  decided  to  enlarge  the  sani- 
tarium, and  to  plan  for  several  houses  at  Baguio, 
where  the  officers  of  the  government  may  recuperate 
during  the  hot  season.  El  Sefior  goes  with  us  to 
decide  on  suitable  sites,  and  make  plans  for  the  new 
town.  Thirty  Chinese  carpenters  have  been  engaged 
to  build  the  addition  to  the  sanitarium,  so  we  shall 
form  a  considerable  colony.  There  were  fifteen  new 
cases  of  cholera  reported  at  noon  to-day.  One  of 
the  police,  who  has  been  on  guard  at  the  gate  dur- 
ing the  week,  died  last  night.  This  seems  to  bring 
the  disease  rather  near  us.  It  is  amazing  how  care- 
less the  men  are.  Our  guard  will  drink  from  the 
faucet  in  the  yard  rather  than  take  the  trouble  to 
walk  to  the  back  stairs  and  ask  for  distilled  water. 
We  are  planning  for  a  two  months'  absence  from 
Manila.  El  Sefior  will  return  in  a  week. 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 


VIII 

IN    THE    WILDS    OF    BENGUET 

DAGUPAN,  April  5,  1902. 

AT  four  o'clock  this  morning  I  was  aroused  by 
the  guard  knocking  on  the  house  door,  and 
awoke  to  the  unhappy  consciousness  that  I  must  get 
up  in  spite  of  the  weariness  a  sleepless  night  had 
brought  me.  We  were  to  leave  Manila  for  Dagu- 
pan  at  eight  o'clock,  so  I  shook  off  my  inclination 
for  one  more  nap,  and  went  to  the  window  for  a 
breath  of  fresh  air.  As  I  leaned  out,  the  sky  toward 
Ermita  was  brilliant  with  the  blaze  of  a  burning 
barrio.  The  sanitary  board  was  destroying  infected 
shacks.  A  fire  at  night  is  always  a  solemn  spectacle, 
and  the  silence  was  intense.  Just  above  the  blaze 
was  a  waning  moon,  and  a  bright  star  shone  below 
the  crescent.  The  air  was  cool,  and  in  a  moment  I 
felt  quite  refreshed. 

I  wish  you  might  have  seen  the  procession  start- 
ing for  the  station.  First  went  the  doctor  and  his 
wife  in  a  calesa  laden  with  a  nondescript  and  dis- 
reputable lot  of  baggage.  Then  came  our  carriage, 
the  double  one,  with  a  mountain  of  small  luggage, 

228 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

two  saddles,  rolls  of  blankets,  luncheon,  and  water 
bottles,  while  we  tucked  ourselves  in  anywhere.  A 
private  car  had  been  attached  to  the  train  for  us. 
Imagine  how  the  Philippines  have  progressed  since 
last  year.  It  was  a  real  private  car.  There  were 
three  Pullman-car  beds,  a  table,  desk,  ice  chest,  and 
an  observation  section  at  one  end.  All  this  made 
our  trip  comfortable.  There  were  interesting  sights, 
as  there  always  are  traveling.  Everywhere  the 
bamboo  has  been  thinned  for  the  market  until  it  is 
only  delicate  tracery  against  the  sky.  There  were 
great  mango  trees  laden  with  green  fruit,  and  cocoa- 
nut  groves  bending  under  clusters  of  yellow  globes 
like  footballs.  At  one  place  ten  million  young  wing- 
less locusts  were  crossing  a  river  on  the  railway 
bridge.  We  made  paste  of  at  least  five  million,  and 
the  locomotive  could  hardly  draw  the  train  over  the 
slippery  mass.  Everyone  was  in  good  spirits. 
Manila  and  the  cholera  vanished,  and  the  strain  of 
the  last  few  weeks  was  relaxed. 

At  Dagupan  we  were  met  by  the  officers  of  the 
garrison.  Two  captains  very  kindly  gave  up  their 
quarters  to  us,  and  arranged  for  our  dinner.  We 
have  been  laughing  at  ourselves  all  day,  for  our 
Benguet  outfit  is  suitable  for  a  trip  to  the  North 
Pole. 


229 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

BAUANG.  EN  ROUTE  TO  BENGUET,  April  6,  1902. 

WHEN  I  look  back  on  my  various  experiences, 
I  think  that  for  a  combination  of  the  new,  the 
picturesque,  and  the  foreign,  our  trip  yesterday  from 
Dagupan  to  Bauang  was  perhaps  the  most  complete. 
We  went  to  bed  early  in  Dagupan,  as  we  were  all 
tired,  but  the  wind  blew,  making  sleep  difficult.  We 
intended  to  start  on  our  ambulance  trip  at  six,  but, 
through  some  delay  in  getting  a  guard,  we  did  not 
get  off  till  seven.  We  laid  in  quite  a  stock  of  com- 
missaries at  Dagnpan,  for  we  did  not  know  how 
long  we  might  be  en  route.  The  road  leading  out 
from  the  town  was  narrow  and  level.  For  some 
distance  it  ran  along  a  dyke  between  rice  paddies. 
We  had  a  Dorety  wagon  for  ourselves,  with  four 
horses  and  a  little  white-haired  German  driver.  Be- 
hind us  came  the  ambulance  and  baggage,  with  the 
architect,  who  has  three  thousand  dollars  in  silver 
done  up  in  bags  to  look  out  for.  He  carries  this 
money  to  pay  the  carpenters  who  go  up  to  build  the 
sanitarium  at  Baguio.  The  doctor,  in  addition  to  his 
medical  duties,  has  been  appointed  commissary  ser- 
geant of  the  company.  The  doctor's  wife  keeps  us 
up  to  our  ideals,  or,  rather,  she  struggles  to  do  so 
without  success.  We  started  in  the  two  wagons 
with  a  guard  from  Dagupan  at  seven,  and  went 
trotting  along  between  almost  solid  rows  of  nipa 
shacks.  It  was  Sunday ;  the  roadway  was  crowded 
with  natives  returning  from  mass,  the  hombres  in 

230 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

white  shirts,  with  their  fighting  cocks  under  their 
arms,  and  the  mujeres  in  neatly  embroidered  ca- 
misas,  with  white  veils  over  their  heads.  Last 
year  at  this  time  all  the  inhabitants  of  these  pueblos 
had  stampeded  to  the  mountains.  Their  shacks  had 
been  burned  and  their  crops  destroyed.  They  have 
nearly  all  returned,  and  everything  looks  prosperous 
on  account  of  the  newly  built  bamboo  and  nipa 
houses.  The  windows  were  full  of  smiling  women 
and  children.  There  were  pretty  girls  with  their  fat 
and  good-natured  mothers,  and  thin,  gray-haired, 
worn-out  old  men  and  women. 

We  came  near  having  two  serious  accidents  dur- 
ing the  morning.  The  ambulance,  with  four  lively 
horses,  followed  our  Dorety.  Twice  in  a  narrow 
place  they  bolted,  and  came  perilously  near  taking 
off  our  rear  wheel,  and  avoided  by  the  merest  chance 
being  upset  themselves.  After  two  of  these  narrow 
escapes  we  ordered  the  ambulance  to  take  the  lead, 
much  to  the  disgust  of  our  driver,  who  called  the 
ambulance  man  all  sorts  of  new  and  strange  Ameri- 
can-Filipino names.  He  was,  moreover,  somewhat 
annoyed  by  our  insisting  on  walking  over  the 
bridges,  which  in  this  part  of  the  country  are  rickety 
wooden  frames  covered  with  woven  bamboo.  They 
are  springy  and  full  of  holes,  and  at  first  sight  filled 
us  with  terror,  but  they  were  comparatively  safe. 
Later  in  the  day,  where  there  would  have  been 
some  reason  in  our  alighting,  we  boldly  sat  in  the 

231 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

Dorety  as  it  swung  to  and  fro,  and  shook  the  crazy 
dilapidated  bridges  to  their  foundations  of  soft  mud. 
We  drove  twenty-seven  miles  in  the  morning  over  a 
rough  but  not  a  bad  road,  fording  the  streams  in 
many  places,  and  were  agreeably  surprised  at  the 
coolness  of  the  fresh  air.  During  the  last  three 
hours  our  road  skirted  the  sea,  which  was  wonder- 
fully blue,  like  the  Mediterranean,  but  the  shore  line 
was  undiversified.  "  At  one  o'clock  we  came  to  Santo 
Tomas,  a  pueblo  where  we  were  to  take  luncheon. 
We  found  it  a  dilapidated  place,  all  of  the  wooden 
houses  having  been  burned,  and  the  stone  church 
ruined  by  an  earthquake.  The  presidente  and  the 
principales  all  turned  out,  and  there  was  the  usual 
hablar. 

The  doctor's  wife  and  I  have  acquired  the  proper 
society  speeches,  and,  while  our  husbands  attend  to 
business,  we  make  ourselves  agreeable  with  our 
mil  gracias,  muy  contentas,  el  honor  estd  nuestro,  and 
all  the  forms  that  hinder  the  dispatch  of  business, 
but  the  use  of  which  places  these  inhabitants  of  dis- 
tant pueblos  within  the  ranks  of  civilization  in  re- 
spect to  formal  politeness.  It  is  surprising  to  find 
in  mountain  villages  men  and  women  with  the  ease 
and  repose  of  manner  that  would  do  credit  to  per- 
sons who  have  traveled  and  had  experience  in  the 
world.  Last  evening  in  this  place  we  descended  on 
a  family  in  whose  house  we  had  been  invited  to 
spend  the  night.  A  gray-haired  woman  received  us 

232 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

and  the  other  visitors,  who  came  to  pay  their  re- 
spects to  us,  with  the  air  of  a  duchess.  She  had 
never  been  away  from  her  pueblo,  and  was  a  pure- 
blooded  Filipina.  When  her  sons  came  to  salute 
her  they  bowed  low,  kissing  first  her  hand  and  then 
her  cheek.  We  astonish  the  natives  when  we  arrive 
in  a  pueblo  by  bringing  our  food,  bedding,  and  little 
alcohol  stoves.  On  account  of  the  cholera  we  pre- 
pare our  own  dinners,  and  refuse  the  excited  in- 
vitations of  the  presidentes  who  have  expected  to 
entertain  us.  There  were  at  least  half-a-dozen  offi- 
cials along  the  line  of  our  route  who  had  prepared 
their  houses  for  us,  and  were  filled  with  astonish- 
ment and  dismay  to  see  us  arrive,  eat,  sleep,  and 
depart.  They  remonstrated  with  us,  saying,  "  The 
voyage  is  too  quick,  too  quick."  From  the  Filipino 
standpoint  it  ought  to  have  taken  four  days  to  travel 
as  far  as  we  went  in  one. 

In  Santo  Tomas  we  took  our  luncheon  in  the  half- 
finished  house  of  a  prominent  citizen.  We  ate  tinned 
beans  and  brown  bread  with  a  relish  from  a  new 
table,  taking  a  siesta  in  big  Filipino  beds  on  clean 
mats.  After  the  siesta  we  started  on,  and  from 
Santo  Tomas  to  Bauang  was  by  far  the  more  enjoy- 
able part  of  the  drive.  The  road  was  wide  and 
fairly  smooth.  On  either  side  were  small  farms, 
divided  by  neat  fences.  The  principal  crop  was  to- 
bacco, and  the  little  patches  with  their  broad  green 
leaves  and  white  spikes  were  an  attractive  sight 

233 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

growing  in  the  well-tilled  fields;  the  drying  leaves 
hanging  in  yellow  sheets  under  the  eaves  of  the 
neat  new  thatch  of  the  houses  made  a  charming 
study  in  color.  The  roadway  was  filled  with  little 
carts  drawn  by  carabao  or  trotting  bulls.  All  the 
inhabitants  appeared  to  be  moving,  or  taking  a  Sab- 
bath airing.  The  cart  wheels  are  of  a  solid  piece 
fixed  on  an  axle  which  revolves  in  a  ring  fastened 
to  the  body  of  the  cart.  There  are  several  kinds  of 
these  carts;  some  are  of  wood,  and  are  used  to 
transport  the  produce  of  the  country — lumber,  salt, 
and  merchandise.  As  it  was  Sunday  we  had  a  fine 
view  of  the  mothers  and  children  crouched  on  the 
bottom  of  springless  vehicles,  gazing  at  us  with 
wide-open  eyes  as  they  withdrew  to  ditches  in  order 
to  clear  the  way  for  the  Americanos.  These  family 
carriages  were  usually  open  basket  carts,  but  we 
passed  many  covered  ones.  The  tops  were  of  woven 
bamboo  matting  bent  in  an  arch,  open  toward  the 
front,  and  closed  at  the  back.  We  saw  all  sorts  and 
conditions  of  persons  in  these  creaking,  lumbering 
conveyances — from  a  fat  Chino,  who  was  reposing 
inside  one  at  full  length  on  a  bed,  to  an  American 
family  followed  by  a  train  of  household  goods.  Just 
as  the  sun  was  setting  we  met  a  sturdy  American 
miner  with  a  stocky  little  pony;  he  was  walking 
some  distance  to  the  rear  of  the  animal's  heels,  and 
guiding  him  with  reins.  The  miner's  pick,  hatchet, 
and  camping  outfit  told  us  what  its  owner  was  look- 

234 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

ing  for  in  this  new  land.  He  was  young,  and  as  he 
passed  us  his  clear-cut  profile  and  decisive  chin  were 
for  a  moment  silhouetted  against  the  sky.  I  think 
we  all  saw  in  him  the  type  of  the  energy  that  is  to 
make  this  new  land  yield  its  wealth  to  the  fair- 
skinned  stranger. 

As  the  sun  sank  low  in  the  west  our  road  lay 
close  enough  to  the  shore  to  show  us  fishing  villages 
of  brown  thatch  nestling  in  mango  groves,  with  tall 
cocoanut  palms  raising  their  slender  stems  and  wav- 
ing their  tasseled  plumes  against  the  yellow  sunset. 
Why  does  the  sight  of  a  cluster  of  cocoanut  palms 
thrill  the  Anglo-Saxon  blood?  There  was  a  mem- 
ory of  Japan  in  the  shore  line  that  haunted  me  all 
the  afternoon.  The  latter  part  of  our  drive  was  in 
the  short  twilight,  and  we  forded  several  streams 
pink  with  the  reflected  rays  of  the  setting  sun.  At 
the  last  river  bank,  just  before  going  into  Bauang, 
we  saw  an  unusual  sight.  Gathered  at  the  edge  of 
the  stream  were  at  least  fifty  wooden-wheeled  carts. 
The  trotting  bulls  and  carabao  were  lying  in  the 
sand  at  rest,  and  the  groups  about  the  fires,  where, 
in  gypsy  fashion,  women  and  girls  were  cooking 
the  evening  meal,  made  pictures  in  light  and  shade 
which  would  have  delighted  an  artist.  We  forded 
the  stream,  and  with  a  final  attempt  at  style  dashed 
up  the  hill  and  drew  up  our  horses  in  front  of  the 
tribunal.  The  officials  were  waiting  for  us,  chairs 
were  brought,  and  the  presidente  bustled  about,  and 
W  235 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

in  a  short  time  we  were  lodged  in  the  best  house  in 
town.  We  ate  our  supper,  and  after  receiving  sev- 
eral neighboring  secretaries  and  presidentes,  who 
came  in  a  quilez  drawn  by  three  horses  abreast,  we 
retired  to  our  blankets  and  the  floor.  The  owners 
took  to  the  sala  floor,  where  they  added  a  finishing 
touch  to  the  scene  as  they  rolled  themselves  up  in 
blankets  and  stretched  themselves  in  all  the  available 
corners.  The  strange  noises  and  the  excitement  of 
our  trip  kept  me  awake,  and  all  night  the  picturesque 
scenes  we  had  passed  through  floated  before  my 
wide-open  eyes.  The  doctor's  wife,  with  her  usual 
foresight,  had  prepared  for  spiders  and  cockroaches, 
and  was,  with  the  irony  of  fate,  the  only  one  mo- 
lested. Two  curious  young  locusts  crawled  down 
her  neck  during  the  night,  and  the  disturbance  they 
created  suggested  an  insurrecto  uprising.  Auria 
was  alarmed  in  the  night  by  pigs  and  chickens  under 
the  house,  and  the  cracking  of  a  whip  which  resem- 
bled pistol  shots. 

NAGUILIAN,  AT  THE  FOOT  OF  THE  BENGUET 

MOUNTAINS,  April  7,  1902. 

'T^HIS  is  the  place  where  we  cut  loose  from  civ- 
J-  ilization,  as  represented  by  negro  teamsters 
and  cavalry  sergeants.  There  is  something  Gilbert- 
and-Sullivanlike  in  taking  a  guard  to  the  wildest 
and,  to  the  average  mind,  the  most  dangerous  part 
of  the  country,  and  then  leaving  it  and  trusting  one's 

236 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

self  to  a  hundred  Igorrotes  in  the  lonely  fastnesses 
of  the  mountains.  Our  trip  from  Bauang  to  this 
place  showed  how  hardened  to  danger  we  had  be- 
come, for  a  rougher  road  one  cannot  imagine.  At 
first  we  drove  for  miles  through  a  stony,  sandy,  dry 
river  bed.  Tall  pampas  grass  grew  in  thick  clumps 
close  to  the  trail,  and  our  road  was  made  more  diffi- 
cult by  branches  of  waving  thorn,  which  caught  our 
veils  and  scratched  our  faces.  There  was  a  repeti- 
tion of  yesterday's  scenes  at  the  fords,  and  we  were 
never  tired  of  watching  the  wooden-wheeled  carts 
and  their  picturesque  occupants.  We  found  our- 
selves for  the  first  time  in  the  land  of  hats.  Hats 
which  heretofore  we  had  seen  adorning  the  walls 
of  officers'  quarters  were  seen  here  on  men  and 
women  alike.  The  inhabitants  of  the  district  seemed 
industrious,  and  the  little  valleys  were  well  culti- 
vated. We  looked  down  on  one  stretch  of  fertile 
land  as  we  reached  the  last  hill  before  Naguilian 
came  in  sight.  It  lay  below  us  like  a  bit  of  southern 
California,  green  and  beautiful,  with  bare  hills  on 
either  side;  across  the  valley  the  foothills  rose  into 
wooded  blue  mountains,  and  beyond  was  the  sug- 
gestion of  heights  hidden  by  cloud  and  mist  that 
thrills  the  traveler  in  the  dust  and  heat  of  the  plain. 
Think  of  it,  we  are  going  to  the  real  mountains 
covered  with  great  pine  forests,  where  the  cool 
breezes  blow,  and  where  spicy  odors  will  refresh  us. 
I  wish  you  might  see  us  now,  in  an  empty  nipa 

237 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

shack,  our  impedimenta  strewn  about  the  bamboo 
floor;  the  doctor  and  his  wife  are  stretched  out  on 
blankets.  I  am  on  the  floor,  and  Auria  is  sitting  in 
a  rattan  swing  I  made  for  her.  You  ought  to  see 
Auria;  she  is  growing  fat  every  minute,  and  her 
cheeks  are  already  as  pink  as  heart  could  wish.  She 
has  a  comical  little  air  of  dignity  when  she  shakes 
hands  with  the  presidentes  and  provincial  secre- 
taries. She  is  a  fine  traveler,  and  finds  everything 
herrlich.  The  moment  she  awakes  she  is  ready  to 
start  out  on  her  travels.  Our  treasurer,  too,  is  de- 
veloping beyond  anyone's  expectations.  He  is  a 
temperance  man,  and  never  drinks  wine;  but  early 
this  morning  he  sent  Auria  to  me  with  a  half  bottle 
of  cherries  preserved  in  maraschino — "  vino  36," 
they  call  it  here.  He  had  taken  a  bath  in  the  river, 
and  had  bought  the  cherries  to  warm  him,  and  keep 
him  from  taking  cold.  He  sent  word  that  the 
"  juice  tasted  fine."  The  doctor  and  I  sampled  it, 
and  decided  that  it  would  kill  all  kinds  of  germs. 
El  Senor  is  in  great  form,  only  he  will  not  shave, 
and  looks  like  a  brigand.  This  morning  at  the  town- 
hall  he  called  a  meeting  of  the  principal  citizens,  and 
lectured  them  on  the  subject  of  good  roads  in  elo- 
quent Spanish,  and  aroused  so  much  enthusiasm 
that  they  promised  to  rebuild  all  the  bridges  before 
we  returned  from  Benguet. 


238 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

SABLAN,  HALFWAY  TO  BAGUIO,  April  8,  1902. 
LORIOUS !  Splendid !  Beautiful !  "  Do  you 
remember  the  time-tables  with  their  gay  post- 
ers in  the  railway  stations  at  the  foot  of  the  Alps — 
the  gentleman  with  his  red-hat  scarf  and  the  lady 
with  her  Baedeker,  both  waving  their  handkerchiefs 
toward  the  Swiss  mountains  and  exclaiming,  "  Glor- 
ious !  splendid !  beautiful !  "  ?  We  are  all  doing  the 
same  thing.  We  plunged  down  an  incline  of  forty- 
five  degrees  at  noon  to-day  into  a  little  valley  half- 
way to  Baguio.  There  is  a  rest  camp  here  consist- 
ing of  one  small  straw  thatched  hut  that  just  holds 
three  army  cots,  a  shelter  for  horses,  and  an  out-of- 
door  kitchen,  with  a  stove  made  of  sheet  iron  laid 
on  top  of  four  stones.  The  doctor's  wife  and  I  are 
writing  at  a  table  made  of  boxes,  on  which  is  a  can 
of  butter,  a  package  of  cigarettes,  a  bolo,  an  Igor- 
roto  hat,  the  doctor's  medical  supplies,  a  bottle  of 
violet  water,  a  spur,  and  a  Spanish  dictionary.  Near 
us  are  crouched  two  bronze-skinned  Igorrotes,  who 
are  eating  rice  and  dainty  pieces  of  dog.  There  are 
horses  and  chickens  wandering  about,  and  Auria  is 
advising  the  cook  about  our  supper  of  bacon,  coffee, 
and  baked  potatoes.  We  are  having  a  glorious  time. 
I  am  ready  to  give  up  civilization.  How  much  more 
healthy  and  happy  one  would  be  riding  over  the 
mountains  amidst  magnificent  scenery,  eating  from 
tin  plates,  and  forgetting  all  about  microbes,  dust, 
servants,  and  dinner  parties.  I  have  not  thought  of 

239 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

a  cholera  germ  since  yesterday.  Even  the  doctor's 
wife  has  forgotten  to  ask  if  the  plates  are  clean  more 
than  twice  during  a  meal.  And  how  we  do  eat ! 

I  must  tell  you  about  our  trip  yesterday.  Na- 
guilian  is  a  small  place,  and  the  town  was  full  of 
smallpox,  so  we  stayed  in  our  nipa  shacks  nearly  all 
day  excepting  when  we  dined  with  the  presidente 
in  the  Tribunal.  Tinned  corn  beef  and  beans  had 
palled  on  our  appetites,  and  we  decided  to  take  the 
risk  of  germs.  The  presidente  looks  to  me  like  an 
insurrecto  of  the  worst  kind,  but  he  gave  us  a  good 
dinner  and  sent  us  our  supper,  so  I  shall  suspend  my 
judgment  till  he  proves  himself  a  traitor.  We  read, 
wrote,  and  slept  during  the  afternoon,  and  had  a 
bit  of  excitement  in  seeing  the  Igorrotes  come  into 
town.  We  had  already  caught  our  first  view  of  this 
much-talked-of  people  in  the  morning  as  we  crossed 
the  river  just  before  we  reached  Naguilian.  There 
were  three  men  and  a  child  bathing  together  in  the 
stream.  As  to  the  absence  of  clothes,  Auria  re- 
marked very  judiciously :  "  That's  all  right ;  it's  their 
costumbre."  The  Igorrotes  are  taller  and  straighter 
than  the  Tagalogs,  and  better  formed.  They  walk 
well,  and  hold  up  their  heads ;  their  chests  are  well 
developed.  They  are  darker  than  any  of  the  native 
races  I  have  seen,  but  have  no  suggestion  of  the 
negro  in  their  faces.  They  carry  heavy  burdens  in 
a  basket  strapped  over  their  arms,  and  held  in  place 
by  a  leather  band  passing  around  the  forehead.  I 

240 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

saw  one  small  boy  whose  forehead  was  flattened,  I 
might  almost  say  depressed,  where  the  band  had 
pressed  against  the  skull. 

During  the  afternoon  our  carriers  arrived  in 
squads,  and  we  furnished  them  as  much  entertain- 
ment and  of  the  same  kind  as  they  did  us.  It  was 
eight  o'clock  before  the  last  band  arrived  carrying 
torches  of  fat  pine.  They  slept  on  the  ground 
wrapped  in  their  blankets.  We  decided  to  go  to  bed 
early,  too,  and  lay  down  on  the  bamboo  floor,  each 
one  vainly  seeking  a  soft  place.  The  three  thousand 
dollars  we  carried  was  piled  in  a  corner.  There  was 
no  door  to  our  shack,  and  we  were  all  more  or  less 
excited.  It  seemed  as  if  it  would  be  easy  for  in- 
surrectos  to  come  in  and  bolo  us  all.  Just  as  we 
were  quieting  down,  a  band  began  the  plaintive 
strains  of  "  Just  One  Girl."  This  serenade  kept  up 
for  some  time.  Then  came  a  series  of  dog  fights, 
horse  stampedes,  Igorrote  powwows,  the  squealing 
of  pigs,  and  the  butting  of  goats  until  we  were  all 
wide  awake.  When  the  noises  outside  ceased,  and 
we  hoped  for  a  little  rest,  the  corner  of  my  mosquito 
net  fell  down  in  my  face,  and  a  cat  crawled  into  the 
room.  Every  time  anyone  turned  over,  the  whole 
house  creaked  and  moaned.  We  had  arranged  to 
leave  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  but  we  were 
all  so  exhausted  that  we  slept  till  half-past  five ;  then 
we  were  delayed  waiting  for  horses,  and  finally 
started  at  half-past  six.  We  traveled  in  a  proces- 

241 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

sion,  I  leading  the  cavalcade  in  a  chair.  My  four 
Igorrote  bearers  were  short,  stocky,  well-built  men 
with  stiff  hair  standing  straight  out  from  their 
heads.  They  did  not  look  stupid,  and  their  eyes 
were  bright  and  mild.  I  at  once  felt  more  confidence 
in  them  than  in  Tagalogs  of  the  same  class.  Our 
guide  was  a  hospital  corps  man;  he  was  a  good- 
natured  fellow,  and  knew  how  to  manage  the  Igor- 
rotes.  I  can  never  describe  the  sights  and  the  de- 
lights of  our  climb.  Toward  noon  we  dipped  down 
into  this  valley  of  Sablan,  and  decided  to  rest  here 
till  to-morrow.  The  bacon  and  eggs  are  ready,  and 
the  cook  has  made  hot  biscuits  baked  in  a  frying  pan, 
so  hasta  la  vista. 

GOVERNMENT  SANITARIUM, 

BAGUIO,  April  10,  1902. 

'VT'ESTERDAY  we  came  up  the  trail  from  Sablan, 
J-  the  halfway  camp,  where  I  wrote  my  last  letter, 
to  Baguio,  our  destination.  I  wonder  if  you  have 
formed  any  idea  of  our  journey  from  my  disjointed 
pages  written  in  camp  or  at  the  houses  of  presi- 
dentes  while  everyone  was  talking,  and  it  was  im- 
possible to  think  consecutively.  The  trail  from 
Naguilian  to  Baguio  is  thirty-five  miles.  Of  this 
distance,  we  made  fifteen  miles  the  first  day  and 
twenty  the  second.  Strange  to  say,  our  party  was 
not  so  much  worn  out  after  the  second  day's  ride 
as  after  the  first,  although  the  distance  was  greater 

242 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

and  the  trail  much  steeper.  The  views  in  all  direc- 
tions were  far-reaching  and  beautiful.  I  remember 
one  place  where  the  pathway,  framed  in  an  oval  of 
two  giant  trees,  seemed  to  fling  itself  out  into  space ; 
beyond  it  in  the  distance  a  mountainside  lay  in  the 
transparent  blue  atmosphere  covered  from  base  to 
summit  with  magnificent  tree  ferns,  broad  stretches 
of  bamboo,  and  immense  tropical  trees.  Behind  us 
we  caught  views  of  the  distant  sea  over  ranges  of 
hills.  Once  we  rode  along  the  backbone  of  a  moun- 
tain where  the  trail  was  not  more  than  twenty  inches 
or  two  feet  wide,  with  a  precipitous  descent  of  a 
thousand  feet  on  either  side. 

It  would  have  been  impossible  for  us  to  ride  over 
this  place  had  it  not  been  for  the  tall  grass  that  grew 
interlaced  with  tree  ferns  and  bamboos,  closing  in 
the  dizzy  fall.  One  must  keep  his  pony  to  the 
trail,  for  in  one  place  we  passed  to-day  Danny  lost 
his  horse  last  year.  He  was  leading  the  animal, 
when  it  suddenly  took  a  false  step  and  disappeared 
down  the  canon.  In  some  places  the  descent  was  so 
precipitous  that  the  horses  slid  down  on  their 
haunches;  again,  the  ascent  was  so  steep  that  we 
held  on  to  the  horse's  mane  to  keep  from  sliding 
backward.  Auria  showed  nowhere  the  slightest 
hesitation.  She  was  a  pretty  sight  in  a  broad- 
brimmed  white  hat  and  blue  dress,  her  face  all  smiles 
as  she  turned  back  to  wave  us  good-by,  when  she 
and  her  father  started  to  lead  the  cavalcade  up  a 

243 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

steep  hill  trail.  The  trail  from  Naguilian  lay  in  the 
heat  and  sun,  but  from  Sablan  we  went  up  through 
shady  canons,  where  immense  pink  and  purple 
orchids  hung  from  the  trees,  and  wild  begonias, 
ferns,  and  new  plants  in  endless  variety  kept  us  con- 
stantly exclaiming  at  their  beauty.  In  many  places 
a  violet  flower  like  a  cluster  of  feathery  balls  cov- 
ered the  roadside,  and  a  berry  like  the  thimble  berry 
overhung  the  path.  I  might  go  on  describing  what 
we  saw  for  pages,  and  fail  to  give  you  an  idea  of 
the  beauty  and  luxuriance  of  the  foliage.  We 
crossed  many  mountain  streams,  and  drank  from 
numberless  springs  without  a  thought  of  cholera. 
We  sang,  laughed,  and  shouted,  while  our  Igorrotes 
gazed  at  us  in  wonder.  About  noon  we  saw  the 
first  pine,  and  under  it  grew  a  great  tree  fern.  My 
botanical  ideas  have  been  all  turned  topsy-turvy.  I 
have  seen  tree  ferns  growing  in  the  rotunda  of  a 
conservatory,  and  expected  to  find  them  in  the 
swamps  of  the  coast  land.  Here  they  flourish  in 
places  where  only  pines  and  grass  will  grow.  The 
story  of  the  coolness  of  the  province  has  not  been 
exaggerated.  It  is  cooler  than  the  Santa  Cruz 
mountains  to-day,  and  April  is  the  hottest  month  of 
the  year. 

The  hospital  has  been  built  on  the  side  of  a  hill. 
There  are  pine  groves  behind  it,  and  in  front  and 
below  is  a  marshy  hollow ;  opposite,  a  broad'  upland 
rises,  on  which  are  built  the  two  or  three  shacks 

244 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

forming  the  town  of  Bagnio.  The  view  from  the 
sanitarium  windows  reminds  me  of  a  deserted  min- 
ing camp  in  California,  for  the  soil  is  red,  and  it  is 
all  seamed  and  scarred  where  the  roadways  have 
been  cut  in  the  hillside.  It  is  a  pity  that  the  main 
buildings  of  the  sanitarium  are  built  here.  There 
are  so  many  beautiful  places  elsewhere  for  building 
sites.  The  government  cottages  will  be  placed  be- 
hind the  main  sanitarium  on  a  hill  in  the  pines. 

BAGUIO,  April  12,  1902. 

IT  seems  as  if  we  had  always  lived  in  Baguio ;  we 
have  settled  down  to  life  here  in  the  most  sur- 
prising way.  The  sanitarium  contains  three  bed- 
rooms and  a  living  room.  There  is  one  big  room 
downstairs,  where  the  men  sleep,  screened  off  from 
one  another  by  sheets.  We  have  hospital  beds  and 
mattresses,  and  nice  soft  new  blankets.  The  rest 
of  the  furniture  is  made  of  boxes,  and  in  the  dining 
room  are  chairs  and  a  table.  Our  sideboard  is  lit- 
erally a  side  board.  On  the  porch  are  rocking 
chairs  and  willow  steamer  chairs.  The  household 
consists  of  six  grown-up  persons,  three  children,  a 
hospital  steward,  a  corps  man,  and  Morris,  the 
guide,  who  is  called  the  King  of  the  Igorrotes,  he 
knows  so  well  how  to  manage  them.  We  have  an 
Ilocano  cook  and  assistant,  and  three  little  Igorrote 
boys,  who  are  the  "  cutest "  little  things  you  ever 
saw.  They  are  learning  to  sweep  and  wait  on  the 

245 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

table,  make  beds,  and  clean  house.  They  are 
anxious  to  learn,  and  really  work.  They  are  very 
sensitive,  and  when  scolded  they  run  away.  Around 
the  house  they  wear  short  white  coats  that  do  not 
cover  their  bare  legs.  When  they  wish  to  be  very 
fine  they  put  on  trousers.  On  ordinary  occasions 
they  take  all  their  clothes  off,  and  go  about  in  their 
"  gee  strings."  Their  eyes  are  soft  and  bright,  and 
their  eager  little  faces  are  very  attractive.  We  have 
a  good  plain  table,  although  almost  everything  is 
canned  except  the  eggs,  bacon,  codfish,  and  sweet 
potatoes.  The  Benguet  coffee  is  delicious.  The 
doctor's  wife  and  I  made  cake  last  night  and  coffee 
this  morning. 

There  are  several  Americans  in  Baguio  besides 
our  immediate  household.  The  governor  of  Ben- 
guet is  the  most  conspicuous  character,  and  an  inte- 
resting man.  He  is  tall  and  thin,  with  a  square  chin 
and  jaw.  Every  feature  is  exaggerated;  his  nose, 
eyes,  and  mouth  are  all  of  a  pronounced  type.  He  is 
devoted  to  the  Igorrotes,  and  has  gained  their  re- 
spect and  affection.  They  will  do  anything  he  sug- 
gests, and  bring  to  him  such  disputes  as  they  them- 
selves cannot  settle.  This  does  not  happen  often, 
for  they  have  the  custom  of  settling  their  disputes 
among  themselves.  As  a  rule  the  decisions  are  just 
and  satisfactory  to  all  parties,  and  they  abide  by 
them.  There  is  an  interesting  story  of  a  decision 
made  by  an  Igorrote  who  had  never  heard  of  Solo- 

246 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

mon.  Two  of  his  neighbors  came  to  him,  each 
claiming  a  dog  which  they  brought  with  them. 
There  seemed  to  be  as  much  right  on  one  side  as  on 
the  other,  so  the  judge  killed  the  dog,  divided  it  and 
gave  half  to  each,  and  they  went  off  perfectly  sat- 
isfied. 

The  Igorrote  houses  are  poor  huts,  mere  sleeping 
holes,  although  there  are  three  or  four  men  in 
Baguio  who  have  better  houses.  The  principal 
crops  raised  by  the  natives  are  coffee  and  sweet  and 
white  potatoes.  The  women  cultivate  the  fields, 
and  all  the  inhabitants  except  those  of  the  wealthiest 
families  work  in  the  fields  and  carry  heavy  burdens 
from  childhood.  Very  small  boys,  twelve  years  old, 
carry  fifty  pounds  up  the  trail  on  their  backs.  We 
met  old  women  and  girls  toiling  up  the  steep  moun- 
tain paths  with  heavy  baskets  of  potatoes  on  their 
backs.  They  carry  a  curious  musical  instrument  of 
bamboo,  something  like  a  jew's-harp,  which  they  hit 
with  their  hands  as  they  walk  along.  The  women 
wear  more  clothes  than  the  men,  and  are  on  that 
account  much  dirtier.  With  their  unkempt  straight 
hair  hanging  over  their  eyes,  and  their  filthy  rags, 
they  are  not  a  pleasant  sight.  The  children  wear 
no  clothes.  The  Igorrotes  suffer  at  night  from  the 
cold.  On  the  trail  they  generally  build  a  fire  to 
warm  themselves.  One  reason  the  little  boys  like 
to  live  at  the  sanitarium  is  because  they  keep  warm, 
and  have  heavy  coats  to  wear  at  night.  It  is  not 

247 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

impossible  to  train  the  little  Igorrotes  to  cleanliness 
and  toleration  of  baths.  It  is  the  boast  of  a  school- 
teacher here  that  she  has  succeeded  in  this,  and  that 
they  take  their  baths  every  day,  vicing  with  each 
other  for  the  honor  of  heating  the  water.  One  little 
boy  who  had  made  himself  a  coat  (she  has  taught 
them  to  sew)  would  not  take  it  home;  he  said  his 
house  would  dirty  it.  The  Igorrotes  are  grateful  to 
those  who  have  befriended  them,  and  if  a  "  good 
American  "  is  ill  they  will  bring  him  eggs  and  chick- 
ens as  gifts,  and  refuse  to  take  money  in  return. 
When  we  meet  them  on  the  trail  they  always  say 
"  Good  morning,"  and  smile.  We  have  no  doors  to 
our  house,  and  everything  is  wide  open,  yet  no  one 
has  the  least  fear.  There  are  about  fifteen  hundred 
Igorrotes  in  this  province,  and  they  do  not  increase 
rapidly.  They  have  many  strange  customs,  but  no 
one  has  investigated  them.  At  night  before  wrap- 
ping themselves  in  their  blankets  they  go  through  a 
performance  like  an  incantation.  It  suggests  gym- 
nastic exercises  accompanied  by  howls.  During  the 
night  they  often  awake  us  by  a  weird  prolonged 
cry.  It  seems  to  be  an  articulated  sound  like  a  word. 
They  told  me  it  frightened  the  devils.  It  would  be 
interesting  to  learn  their  language,  and  find  out 
what  they  believe.  They  are  tenacious  of  their  cus- 
toms and  traditions,  and  are  the  only  large  tribe 
beside  the  Moros  who  have  persistently  refused 
to  allow  the  friars  to  convert  them.  There  are 

248 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

only  three  families  in  the  province  who  are  Cath- 
olics. 

BAGUIO,  April  14,  1902. 

• 

TT'ESTERDAY  we  went  on  a  picnic  to  the  Army 
-*-  Mill,  about  two  miles  and  a  half  down  the  new 
road;  all  went  on  horseback.  I  have  a  very  good 
pony  now,  quite  large  and  strong.  On  these  moun- 
tain trails  one  needs  nerve,  but  the  ponies  are  so 
small  and  sure-footed  that  there  is  practically  no 
danger,  although  the  narrow  pathways  seem  fearful 
as  one  looks  up  and  down  them.  We  carried  some 
of  our  luncheon  in  saddle  bags,  and  little  Kit  Kat, 
our  favorite  Igorrote,  carried  the  rest  in  a  big  bis- 
cuit can  balanced  on  his  head.  From  the  meadow, 
where  we  left  our  horses,  we  slid  and  scrambled  into 
the  creek  bed.  Kit  Kat,  who  cannot  be  more  than 
eight  years  old,  walked  down  the  steep  bank  with 
the  tin  on  his  head  and  a  pair  of  saddle  bags  on  his 
shoulders  as  if  he  were  going  downstairs.  After 
many  slips  and  tumbles  we  reached  the  bed  of  the 
stream,  which  runs  between  narrow  banks  overhung 
with  a  luxuriant  growth  of  ferns,  orchids,  and 
climbing  plants.  A  water  wheel  built  for  a  pros- 
pective sawmill  was  a  picturesque  feature  of  the 
scene,  and  the  water,  although  but  a  little  stream  at 
present,  must  be  of  considerable  volume  in  the 
rainy  season..  The  canon  is  full  of  boulders,  and 
anyone  but  an  Igorrote  needs  to  proceed  with  care. 

249 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

Kit  Kat  looked  like  a  monkey,  and  walked  up  and 
down  the  trees  like  a  cat.  After  a  scramble  of  some 
ten  minutes  we  found  ourselves  in  a  beautiful  spot 
overhung1  by  tree  ferns,  where,  we  made  a  fire, 
heated  our  beans,  and  boiled  the  coffee. 

BAGUIO,  April  15,  1902. 

THERE  is  never  the  same  outlook  twice  from  the 
veranda  at  Baguio,  for  the  atmosphere  of  the 
morning  is  not  that  of  noon,  nor  the  noon  that  of 
evening.  The  shadows  change  with  every  hour,  and 
fleecy  clouds  pile  up  like  snow  mountains  above  the 
dark  pine-covered  slopes.  We  take  a  new  trail 
every  day,  and  yesterday  morning  we  explored  a 
neighboring  hill.  On  reaching  the  summit  we 
seemed  to  come  to  the  end  of  our  world,  and  look 
down  and  off  on  strange  countries.  We  were  so 
high  that  the  clouds  on  the  opposite  mountains 
seemed  to  float  beneath  us,  and  far  below  in  the  val- 
ley were  green  rice  fields  glittering  in  the  sunshine. 
Cliffs  of  a  dark  rugged  rock,  piled  up  like  broken 
columns,  formed  the  precipitous  walls  of  the  valley. 
We  camped  under  the  pines  all  day.  There  is  a 
great  deal  of  rolling  country  about  Baguio.  The 
steep  trails  usually  lead  to  stretches  of  upland  where 
pine  needles  make  a  soft  carpet  under  the  trees. 
There  are  glorious  views  from  the  new  Benguet- 
Manila  road,  and  I  am  constantly  reminded  by  them 
of  Japanese  prints.  There  are  not  many  birds  in  the 

250 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

forests,  but  they  have  beautiful  notes,  and  one  espe- 
cially sings  a  little  melody  of  five  notes  that  is  won- 
derfully sweet.  There  are  few  wild  animals,  for 
there  is  little  underbrush.  The  Igorrotes  burn  off 
the  mountainside  every  year  that  they  may  have 
grass  for  their  cattle.  There  is  no  doubt  that  all 
sorts  of  vegetables  and  fruits  of  the  temperate  zone 
might  be  raised  in  this  province. 

Yesterday  Mateo  Carino,  the  father  of  the  presi- 
dente  of  Baguio,  gave  what  the  Igorrotes  call  a 
tiyow.  For  a  day  or  so  we  had  noticed  considerable 
excitement  at  the  Presidencia.  An  arbor  and  a  large 
square  pen  of  strong  bamboo  poles  had  been  erected 
in  the  front  yard.  Day  before  yesterday  we  received 
an  invitation  to  attend  the  feast,  written  in  the  flow- 
ing hand  of  the  governor's  secretary.  Yesterday  at 
six  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  presidente  himself 
called,  and  begged  us  to  come  early  to  the  celebra- 
tion, as  he  wished  us  to  see  all  the  rites  (ritos}. 
Before  receiving  the  presidente's  personal  invitation, 
warned  by  previous  experience,  we  had  decided  to 
go  over  in  time  for  dinner  and  return  early,  but  the 
word  "  ritos  "  seemed  to  indicate  something  more 
than  a  ball,  so  we  started  about  nine  o'clock,  and 
after  a  short  walk  reached  the  Presidencia.  Mateo 
Carino  is  one  of  the  richest,  and  was  formerly  one 
of  the  most  powerful,  Igorrote  chiefs  in  the  prov- 
ince. He  is  also  one  of  the  most  conservative 
natives  in  Benguet.  He  has  said  on  several  occa- 
17  251 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

sions  that  this  would  probably  be  the  last,  as  well 
as  the  most  elaborate  and  costly,  tiyow  he  would 
give  during  his  lifetime.  Although  not  an  old  man 
in  appearance,  he  talks  as  if  he  could  not  live  much 
longer,  and  he  evidently  prefers  to  enjoy  his  own 
tiyow  in  the  flesh  rather  than  await  the  time  when 
he  will  sit  in  state,  wrapped  in  his  burial  blanket,  a 
stiff  and  sightless  guest  at  his  own  "  wake,"  if  one 
may  borrow  the  expression. 

It  is  a  custom  among  the  Igorrotes  when  a  man 
dies  to  divide  all  his  eatable  property;  one  half  goes 
to  the  family,  and  the  other  half  belongs  to  the  com- 
munity. After  the  customary  rites  and  ceremonies, 
the  dead  man,  wrapped  in  his  burial  blanket,  is 
placed  in  a  hammock  and  hoisted  to  the  ceiling  of 
his  kitchen.  The  pueblo  then  assemble  to  kill  and 
eat  until  half  the  live  stock,  half  the  rice,  camotes 
(sweet  potatoes),  and  tapoi  (rice  wine)  have  been 
devoured,  and  the  dead  man  is  supposed  to  enjoy 
the  tiyow  from  his  smoky  perch.  But  Mateo  Car i no 
wisely  prefers  to  enjoy  his  tiyow  during  his  lifetime, 
and  has  invited  all  the  inhabitants  of  this  pueblo  to 
his  house,  where  they  are  to  devour  half  his  sub- 
stance during  the  next  three  days.  We  walked  to 
his  compound,  and  entered  the  inclosure  through  a 
hole  in  the  mud  wall.  We  were  met  by  Mateo  and 
his  son,  the  presidente  of  Baguio,  who  welcomed  us 
to  the  tiyow  with  much  formality. 

Mateo's  wooden  house  was  low;  the  roof  was 
252 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

thatched  with  grass  bleached  by  time  to  a  soft  dark 
gray.  The  main  building  and  a  small  ell  were  raised 
some  ten  feet  above  the  ground.  The  upper  floor 
of  the  house  contained  one  large  irregularly  shaped 
room,  where  we  were  entertained,  and  a  smaller 
space  screened  off  as  a  bedroom,  for  the  parents  of 
the  family.  The  ell  contained  one  room,  which 
served  as  a  storeroom  and  a  kitchen.  The  furniture 
consisted  of  bamboo  beds,  a  few  willow  chairs,  a 
rough  table,  and  one  wardrobe.  The  space  under  the 
house  was  used  as  a  storeroom  for  rice  and  camotes, 
a  stable  for  horses,  and  a  sleeping  place  for  the  re- 
tainers of  the  family.  Mateo  Carino  has  a  large 
family  of  sons  and  daughters.  One  or  two  of  the 
daughters  are  married.  His  son,  the  presidente, 
was  dressed  in  a  white  suit,  hat,  and  shoes,  the  in- 
signia of  his  office.  This  official  garb  is  not  the 
least  of  the  trials  which  accompany  the  honor  of 
being  a  presidente.  The  office  carries  with  it  not 
only  a  burden  of  responsibility,  but  of  expense,  for 
every  presidente  must  give  a  number  of  feasts  dur- 
ing his  term  of  office,  costing  several  hundred  pesos. 
The  office  sometimes  ruins  the  man  financially,  and 
he  is  therefore  not  obliged  to  serve  more  than  two 
terms.  When  he  returns  to  private  life  he  passes 
the  coat  and  trousers,  hat  and  shoes,  as  symbols  of 
his  office,  to  the  next  incumbent,  and  joyfully  re- 
turns to  a  "  gee  string  " ;  on  public  occasions,  how- 
ever, he  may  don  a  shirt.  During  the  day  we 

253 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

saw  one  fat  and  jolly  ex-presidente  in  a  "  gee 
string  "  sitting  in  the  middle  of  a  heap  of  bloody 
pig  entrails,  chopping  up  chunks  of  pork  with  the 
abandon  of  one  who  no  longer  has  any  dignity  to 
maintain. 

Mateo  presented  to  us  his  wife  and  daughters, 
distinguished  from  the  other  women  present  by 
their  clean  and  handsome  dresses,  new  turbans,  and 
many  necklaces.  The  Igorrote  women  are  not  hand- 
some, and  only  the  children  and  a  few  young  girls 
have  attractive  faces.  The  majority  of  them  are 
ugly,  and  the  old  women  are  hideous.  They  have 
coarse,  straight,  and  unkempt  hair;  their  eyes  are 
small  and  their  noses  are  flat;  they  have  thick  lips 
and  black  teeth.  Their  figures  are  thickset,  and 
their  legs  well  developed.  All  Igorrote  men  and 
women  are  erect,  and  walk  well.  The  woman's 
dress  consists  of  three  horizontally  striped  cotton 
skirts  worn  one  above  the  other.  The  favorite  col- 
ors are  black,  blue,  red,  and  white,  and  the  stripes 
vary  in  width.  A  loose  jacket  of  the  same  striped 
material  is  worn  open  in  front  and  tucked  in  loosely 
at  the  belt,  so  that  the  brown  skin  is  not  concealed. 
All  the  women  wear  chains  of  beads,  berries,  or 
coins.  Mateo's  wife  wore  a  curious  antique  golden 
rosary  of  beautifully  carved  beads.  Both  women 
and  men  wear  turbans  made  of  bath  towels,  knit 
woolen  shawls,  or  of  cotton  or  woolen  cloth.  This 
is,  of  course,  a  gala  dress ;  rags  form  the  everyday 

254 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

garments  of  the  women,  as  the  "  gee  string  "  is  the 
common  garb  of  the  men. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  different  pueblos  came  in 
companies  to  the  tiyoiv  on  foot  or  on  horseback. 
After  greeting  their  host  they  sat  down  in  groups 
on  the  ground  and  chatted  together,  while  the 
women  passed  them  tapoi,  or  rice  wine.  A  'wise 
guest  never  takes  more  than  a  swallow  of  tapoi  from 
the  cocoanut  bowl,  which,  like  a  loving  cup,  is 
passed  from  mouth  to  mouth,  for  a  full  draught 
would  incapacitate  the  drinker  very  soon.  By  this 
moderate  but  continuous  sipping  of  tapoi  an  Igor- 
rote  can  keep  on  his  feet  for  two  or  three  days. 
There  were  only  a  few  women  and  children  among 
the  guests,  but  it  is  the  custom  to  send  pieces  of 
meat,  strung  on  rattan,  to  those  who  stay  at  home. 
An  arbor  built  of  bamboo  poles  covered  with  fern 
was  reserved  for  us  as  the  most  honored  guests. 
Near  it,  hanging  over  big  fires,  were  four  large 
copper  kettles  in  which  camotes,  or  sweet  potatoes, 
were  cooking.  Naked  boys  and  half-grown  girls 
attended  to  the  cooking.  In  the  shade  of  a  tree  were 
tethered  a  carabao  and  a  calf  ready  for  the  slaughter. 
A  cow  had  already  been  sacrificed,  and  a  famous 
cook  from  a  distant  town  was  preparing  a  dinner 
for  us  in  Spanish  style.  We  also  saw  several  dogs 
reserved  as  choice  tidbits  to  be  eaten  later.  Finally, 
we  were  shown  the  crowning  glory  of  the  feast,  the 
pride  of  old  Mateo's  heart,  twelve  fat  hogs,  which 

255 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

were  to  be  sacrificed  and  eaten  in  accordance  with 
the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the  good  old  Igorrote 
times. 

There  are  few  chiefs  in  these  degenerate  days 
who  dare  perform  the  ancient  rites  in  the  presence 
of  the  foreigner,  'and  even  Mateo  did  not  celebrate 
them*  in  the  open  air,  as  was  the  custom  in  the  old 
days,  but  upstairs  in  the  dark,  smoke-blackened 
kitchen.  As  a  crowd  of  men  and  small  boys  had 
swarmed  on  the  bamboo  fence,  each  pushing  and 
straining  to  get  a  point  of  view  from  which  to  see 
the  sacrificial  offering,  we  concluded  to  go  upstairs 
to  a  window  overlooking  the  inclosure.  On  our  way 
we  stopped  to  examine  the  drums  which  four  old 
men  had  been  beating  steadily  since  daylight,  and 
to  watch  the  curious  dance  which  is  kept  up  almost 
continuously  day  and  night  during  these  festivals. 
The  drums  were  hollow  cylindrical  instruments 
about  three  feet  long.  They  were  eight  or  ten 
inches  in  diameter  at  the  upper  end,  and  somewhat 
smaller  at  the  bottom.  The  ends  were  covered  with 
skin  fastened  in  a  net.  The  old  men  beat  the  drums 
with  their  fingers,  while  others  pounded  on  brass 
pans  with  the  tusks  of  wild  hogs.  The  sounds  were 
monotonous,  but  rhythmical,  and  the  dance  resem- 
bled the  children's  game  of  Follow  the  Leader. 
The  participants  shoved  themselves  about  one  after 
the  other  in  an  irregular  figure,  never  moving  their 
feet  from  the  ground,  and  humping  themselves  up 

256 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

and  down  in  a  curiously  ungraceful  manner.  One 
woman  took  part  in  each  dance;  she  held  her  open 
hands  against  her  breast,  with  the  palms  outward, 
her  motions  resembling  a  muscle  dance.  These 
dances  were  performed  at  intervals  during  four 
days  and  nights. 

When  we  finally  mounted  the  ladder  leading  to 
the  reception  room,  and  had  tasted  the  sour,  yeast- 
like  tapoi,  a  shrill  squeal  and  a  chorus  of  grunts 
called  us  to  the  window,  and  looking  down  we  saw 
a  square  pen  containing  twelve  great  hogs.  The 
prize  animal,  a  huge  creature  weighing  at  least  four 
hundred  pounds,  was  valued  at  seventy-five  dollars. 
This  great  fellow  had  long  sharp  tusks,  which  were 
not  wholly  harmless,  as  more  than  one  Igorrote's 
bloody  leg  or  thigh  bore  witness.  In  the  arena,  for 
certainly  the  show  might  in  some  sense  be  compared 
to  a  bull  fight,  were  a  number  of  naked  athletes. 
These  lusty  fellows  had  been  selected  to  catch  and 
tie  the  hogs.  They  took  their  proper  places,  a  par- 
ticular hog  being  assigned  to  each  one.  The  scene 
was  grotesque  in  the  extreme.  A  crowd  of  eager 
bronze  figures  surrounded  the  pen,  dressed,  or 
rather  undressed,  in  brilliant  red-and-blue  turbans, 
and  within  the  inclosure  the  finely  built  young  Igor- 
rotes  assumed  attitudes  of  studied  grace  as  they  pre- 
pared to  lasso  the  hind  leg  of  a  slippery  pig,  or  to 
throw  themselves  upon  it  and,  more  frequently  than 
not,  roll  over  and  over  with  it  in  the  mire.  Not  a 

257 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

few  of  the  animals  showed  fight,  and  more  than  one 
man  received  a  rip  from  the  sharp  tusk  of  an  angry 
hog.  The  men  were  quite  half  an  hour  struggling 
to  secure  them,  but  finally  the  last  hog  was  thrown, 
his  feet  tied  together,  and  a  beating  of  drums  and 
mournful  howls  from  the  kitchen  announced  the  be- 
ginning of  the  mysterious  rites. 

Just  what  these  rites  signify  no  one  seems  to 
know.  Mateo  called  them  his  family  ceremonies. 
An  Ilocano  gentleman,  who  informed  me  that  he 
intended  writing  a  book  about  them,  said  they  were 
religious  in  character.  After  watching  them  closely, 
and  asking  the  meaning  of  each  separate  perform- 
ance, I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  they  were  charms 
or  spells  for  bringing  good  luck  and  warding  off 
evil.  The  presidente  volunteered  the  information 
that  the  Igorrotes  have  no  saints,  that  they  pray  to 
the  sun  and  moon.  It  is  impossible  to  find  out  what 
they  really  believe,  for  one  must  first  speak  their 
language  and  gain  their  confidence,  and  even  then 
they  are  extremely  reticent. 

A  high  priestess  had  charge  of  the  performance 
in  the  kitchen,  and  the  wife  of  Mateo  and  one  of 
her  sons,  a  boy  of  about  ten,  were  the  only  members 
of  the  family  who  participated  in  the  rites.  The 
kitchen  in  which  they  were  performed  was  a  small, 
dark,  smoke-blackened  room  with  low  ceiling.  In 
one  corner  was  a  square  wooden  table,  plastered 
with  mud,  on  which  the  Igorrote  builds  his  kitchen 

258 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

fire.  This  and  a  wooden  bench  comprised  the  fur- 
niture. Four  large  burial  blankets  hung  on  a  line 
across  one  side  of  the  room.  Two  drummers  sat  on 
the  bench,  and  beat  drums  continuously  during  the 
three  hours  the  ceremonies  lasted.  Four  tapoi  jars 
stood  on  the  floor,  and  beside  them  sat  an  old 
woman  who  acted  the  part  of  assistant  to  the  priest- 
ess, who  was  black,  wrinkled,  and  hideously  ugly. 
Her  hands,  wrists,  and  arms  were  tattooed  in  an 
elaborate  manner.  She  wore  the  usual  Igorrote 
woman's  dress,  and  her  head  was  bound  about  with 
a  scarlet  cloth.  Over  her  shoulders  she  wore  a  blu- 
ish-purple mantle  striped  with  dark  red,  completely 
covering  her.  One  long  narrow  end  hung  over  her 
shoulder,  and  fell  down  her  back.  The  other  occu- 
pants of  the  room  were  half-a-dozen  old  women. 
Mateo's  wife  and  son  were  crouched  down  in  a  cor- 
ner, and  participated  passively  in  the  rites.  On  the 
floor  in  front  of  them  was  a  round  flat  basket  con- 
taining three  knives  and  two  small  cocoanut-shell 
cups.  It  would  be  impossible,  as  well  as  tiresome, 
to  recount  in  detail  all  the  performances  of  the  old 
priestess.  In  every  rite  the  tapoi  played  an  im- 
portant part.  It  was  taken  from  the  large  earthen- 
ware jars  by  the  assistant  priestess,  who  plunged  her 
dirty  tattooed  hands  into  the  wine  and  half  scooped, 
half  strained  it  into  a  large  cocoanut  bowl ;  the  high 
priestess  then  poured  it  into  two  smaller  cups,  which 
were  apparently  consecrated  by  the  dipping  in  of 

259 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

fingers  and  passing  of  hands  accompanied  by  strange 
guttural  sounds.  Mateo's  wife  and  son  were  then 
anointed  with  the  tapoi  on  both  cheeks,  and  the 
burial  robes  were  then  sprinkled  with  some  of  the 
same  liquid.  At  intervals  the  old  women  performed 
a  slow  jerky  dance,  holding  the  tapoi  cup  aloft  be- 
fore a  spear  and  a  blanket  containing  three  bolos. 
Then  a  white  cloth  mantle  was  laid  folded  in  a 
basket;  and  beside  it  were  placed  two  potatoes  and 
a  cup  of  tapoi.  After  an  interminable  dance  the 
potato  was  placed  in  Mateo's  son's  mouth,  and  the 
mantle  laid  carefully  in  the  lap  of  his  wife,  who 
searched  in  the  folds  of  the  mantle,  where  she  dis- 
covered several  grains  of  gold,  and  placed  them  in 
a  bag.  During  the  first  hour  the  priestess  and  her 
audience  accompanied  the  ceremonies  with  a  solemn 
monotonous  chant;  but,  as  frequent  cups  of  tapoi 
were  drunk,  the  voices  of  the  musicians  gradually 
joined  themselves  to  their  drums,  and  now  and  then 
a  yell  or  howl  was  indulged  in  by  the  company  in 
unison. 

During  this  indoor  performance  the  pigs  lay  on 
the  ground  outside,  covered  with  green  boughs  to 
keep  off  the  sun,  their  feet  bound  with  bejuco,  the 
rattan  substitute  for  rope.  As  the  time  drew  near 
for  the  sacrifice,  Mateo's  wife  was  led  from  the 
kitchen  down  the  steps  to  where  the  hogs  lay.  Close 
to  the  house  a  large  stone  had  been  placed,  and  cov- 
ered with  green  leaves ;  on  either  side  two  bows  and 

260 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

arrows  made  of  green  bamboo  were  planted  upright 
in  the  sand,  and  a  bowl  of  tapoi  stood  in  front  of 
them.  The  woman  was  led  by  the  priestess  to  the 
stone ;  she  sat  down ;  the  bowl  of  tapoi  was  placed 
in  her  lap,  and  a  white  mantle  was  laid  over  her. 
She  sat  motionless  while  the  priestess  seized  the 
spear,  already  consecrated  in  the  ceremonies  upstairs, 
and  a  flat  basket,  which  she  held  as  if  it  were  a 
shield.  With  these  she  performed  a  solemn  war 
dance  around  the  prostrate  pigs.  She  then  returned 
to  Mateo's  wife,  raised  a  corner  of  her  mantle,  and 
carefully  examined  the  bowl  of  tapoi.  Mrs.  Mateo  at 
this  point  escaped  from  the  mantle,  leaving  the  bowl 
in  the  priestess's  hands,  and  went  off  looking  much 
relieved  after  her  two  hours'  struggle  for  luck. 

The  rites  ended  by  the  priestess  pulling  up  the 
bows  and  arrows,  and  waving  them  slowly  over  the 
hogs.  Then  she  cut  a  bunch  of  bristles  from  the 
side  of  each  prostrate  victim  to  indicate  where  the 
sacrificial  knife  should  strike,  and  that  was  the  last 
I  saw,  for  a  bronze  athlete  sprang  forward  with  a 
glittering  bolo  and  a  sharp  stick,  and  I  fled.  For  a 
time  pandemonium  reigned.  I  never  heard  such  hor- 
rible sounds.  The  air  was  rent  with  the  shrieks  and 
squeals  of  the  hogs.  The  sounds  were  appallingly 
human.  The  doctor,  who  is  a  man  of  nerve,  de- 
scribed the  modus  operandi  of  killing  the  animal,  the 
object  being  to  keep  the  blood  inside  the  body.  A 
piece  of  flesh  is  cut  off  the  living  creature  just  over 

261 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

the  heart,  back  of  the  shoulder ;  then  a  sharp  bamboo 
stick  is  thrust  into  the  breast  between  the  ribs  and 
jabbed  about  until  the  heart  is  pierced,  when  the 
animal,  of  course,  dies,  but  not  before  he  has  filled 
the  air  with  the  most  blood-curdling  sounds.  As 
there  was  no  way  of  escape  we  had  to  stay  and  hear, 
if  not  see,  the  poor  creature  slaughtered,  and  then 
we  were  invited  to  view  the  remains.  As  soon  as 
a  hog  was  killed,  he  was  carried  on  poles  to  a  fire 
and  well  singed.  Around  the  fires  small  boys  squat- 
ted, roasting  pig  tails  and  munching  the  dainty  bits 
with  evident  relish. 

While  the  hogs  were  being  skinned  and  scraped, 
we  ate  our  dinner  in  the  arbor.  It  was  so  arranged 
that  all  I  had  to  do  was  to  raise  my  eyes  to  see  the 
bloody  pile  of  pork  being  cut  into  chunks  on  a  great 
green  bed  of  leaves.  We  had  full  view  of  the  bap- 
tism of  the  smallest  Igorrote  baby,  a  child  not  more 
than  two  months  old,  who  was  dipped  into  the  prize 
hog's  body,  which  contained  enough  blood  to  cover 
him  all  but  his  head.  This  baptism  was  a  custom  in 
Mateo's  family,  and  made  the  child  an  heir  of  the 
family  property.  The  dinner  was  good,  but  some- 
how our  appetites  were  not  up  to  the  usual  pitch. 
We  were  entertained  by  a  musician  who  played  on 
a  bamboo  flute,  accompanied  by  a  man  with  a  bass 
drum  who  used  his  fists  on  his  instrument,  and  there 
was  dancing  for  our  amusement.  Our  dinner  con- 
sisted of  rice  cooked  with  chicken  and  peas,  very 

262 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

good  chops,  and  sweet  potatoes.  Two  custards 
composed  our  dessert;  one  bore  the  inscription 
Mto,  the  other  Cno,  which,  after  many  guesses,  was 
found  to  mean  Mateo  Carifio.  After  delicious  Ben- 
guet  coffee,  we  were  informed  there  were  to  be  some 
more  performances  in  the  kitchen,  and  we  went  up- 
stairs. As  we  passed  the  place  where  the  hogs  had 
been  slaughtered  we  turned  in  disgust  from  a  sight 
so  bloody  and  barbarous.  On  a  bed  of  bamboo 
shoots  sat  a  dozen  naked  Igorrotes,  among  whom 
we  recognized  our  friend,  the  ex-presidente  Antonio. 
Most  of  the  animals  had  been  disemboweled,  and 
the  entrails  lay  about  in  bloody  heaps.  The  blood 
had  collected  in  the  empty  carcasses,  and  was  being 
dipped  out  into  earthen  jars  for  sausage.  It  was 
in  one  of  these  carcasses  that  the  baby  had  been  bap- 
tized. Some  of  the  men  were  cutting  huge  chunks 
of  meat  off  the  carcasses,  which  they  threw  to  oth- 
ers who  sat  on  the  ground,  holding  a  bolo  upright 
between  their  toes,  slicing  the  larger  pieces  into 
smaller  bits.  These  pieces  were  strung  on  strips  of. 
bamboo,  and  given  as  souvenirs  to  the  departing 
guests.  The  manipulation  of  the  bolo  man  was 
clever,  for  he  cut  toward  him  as  the  Japanese  do, 
and  it  must  require  immense  strength  to  hold  a  large 
knife  upright  between  the  toes.  At  the  foot  of  the 
kitchen  ladder  stood  the  priestess,  anointing  the 
cheeks  of  every  member  of  the  family  with  the 
blood. 

263 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

The  ceremonies  upstairs  were  curious,  but  unin- 
telligible. A  side  of  hog  hung  in  the  kitchen,  and 
the  priestess  and  women  had  prepared  bits  of  meat 
with  chipped  greens.  These  were  used  in  the  rites, 
as  the  tapoi  had  been  in  the  morning.  They  were 
put  in  pans,  and  with  signs  and  incantations  they 
were  placed  on  the  heads  of  Mateo's  wife  and  sons. 
They  were  raised  and  lowered  before  the  carcass  on 
the  wall,  and  manipulated  in  a  dozen  ways.  Every 
detail  of  these  rites  is  prescribed  according  to  im- 
memorial custom.  Once  the  priestess  handed  a  wisp 
of  broom,  which  she  had  waved  in  front  of  the 
meat,  over  the  tapoi,  and  above  Mateo's  wife's  head, 
to  a  man  standing  near  her.  He  started  to  place  it 
in  the  wall  above  the  stove.  Thereupon  a  yell  arose 
from  the  musicians,  and  with  every  manifestation  of 
anger  the  priestess  sprang  at  him,  snatched  the  wisp 
from  his  hand  with  a  howl,  and  placed  it  over  the 
window.  The  priestess,  her  attendant,  and  the  mu- 
sicians became  more  and  more  noisy,  and  the  cere- 
monies more  weird.  The  dark  room,  the  bloody 
hog,  the  priestess  no  longer  covered  by  her  long 
robe,  but  with  skirts  girded  high,  barelegged  and 
red-handed,  danced  and  yelled,  the  members  of  the 
Mateo  family  with  marks  of  blood  on  either  cheek, 
and  the  excited  musicians,  all  formed  a  picture  that 
for  downright  savagery  could  not  be  surpassed. 
The  final  ceremony  was  performed  on  the  mother 
and  her  sons,  and  repeated  with  the  daughters. 

264 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

They  sat  in  a  single  file,  the  mother  first,  and  her 
sons  according  to  age  in  front  of  her.  The  hands 
of  each  rested  on  the  shoulders  of  the  next  in  front, 
and  their  knees  were  on  a  level  with  their  shoul- 
ders. The  priestess  advanced,  bent  over,  kissed  the 
mother  on  her  forehead,  raised  her  face  toward  the 
ceiling,  and  spat  in  the  air.  This  she  did  in  turn  to 
each  one.  She  then  touched  the  right  knee  of  each 
in  turn  with  her  foot,  and  then  the  left.  Finally 
she  pulled  out  the  thumb  and  fingers  of  the  left 
hands  of  all  the  party,  and  then  the  right,  as  if  she 
were  massaging  them.  Between  these  perform- 
ances they  all  danced,  and  the  musicians  howled. 
When  it  was  all  over,  the  boys  scattered  with  howls 
of  joy. 

By  this  time  all  the  native  guests  had  eaten  the 
half-cooked  pork,  and  had  taken  enough  tapoi  to 
make  them  drunk  in  their  "  legs,  but  not  in  their 
heads,"  as  one  said.  When  we  started  for  home 
there  were  many  drunk  in  both  head  and  legs,  but 
Mateo  and  his  family  were  able  to  shake  hands  and 
say  "  good-by."  To-day  we  still  hear  the  "  turn 
turn  "  of  the  drums  from  over  the  valley,  which 
have  scarcely  ceased  since  yesterday  morning.  Re- 
ports have  come  in  to-night  that  Mateo  and  the 
three  principal  chiefs  were  no  longer  able  to  move, 
but  were  lying  unconscious  on  the  table  under  the 
green  arbor.  The  calf,  carabao,  and  cow,  and  even 
the  dogs  have  all  been  eaten,  and  as  we  ride  over 

265 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

the  trails  we  meet  men  and  women  carrying  home 
long  string's  of  pork  or  beef  and  baskets  of  boiled 
camotes.  Our  share  of  the  spoils  was  a  ham  from 
the  prize  four-hundred-pound  hog,  and  it  tasted 
good  in  spite  of  our  memories,  for  a  piece  of  fresh 
meat  is  a  luxury  at  present  in  Benguet. 

BAGUIO,  April  28,  1902. 

IT  is  Monday  again,  and  a  week  since  I  have  writ- 
ten you.  I  find  I  must  spin  out  my  tale  very  fine 
if  I  write  oftener  than  once  a  week.  We  have  spent 
most  of  our  time  in  the  saddle,  and  have  explored 
the  country  for  miles  around.  This  morning  the 
doctor's  wife  and  I  did  a  good-sized  washing.  Our 
Igorrote  washwoman,  on  account  of  the  recent 
tiyow,  I  suspect,  has  been  mucho  malo  ever  since. 
She  sits  crouched  over  a  fire,  her  head  tied  up  in  a 
towel,  and  refuses  to  understand  any  language. 
Clothes  brought  and  laid  at  her  feet,  big  shiny  dol- 
lars held  up  before  her,  have  awakened  no  sign  of 
intelligence  in  her  dirty  black  face ;  so,  having  but 
one  riding  habit  apiece,  necessity  compelled  us  to 
wash  it,  for  we  felt  hardly  respectable  in  a  garment 
in  which  we  live  from  one  week's  end  to  the  other. 
Early  this  morning  we  set  our  Igorrote  boys  to 
build  a  fire  on  the  hillside  below  the  house,  and  put 
on  a  washboiler  of  water  to  heat.  When  we  began 
operations  with  an  American  washboard  in  a  big 
dish  pan,  a  large  crowd  of  spectators  gathered,  both 

266 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

white  and  brown.  The  Igorrotes  gazed  at  us  with 
open-mouthed  astonishment,  the  men  with  com- 
placency. It  is  an  instinct  of  the  aboriginal  man 
to  be  pleased  when  he  sees  women  working  like 
slaves.  So  the  doctor  and  el  Sefior  stood  about, 
congratulating  us  and  encouraging  us  to  keep  on 
with  the  good  work.  We  were  determined  to  show 
them  we  could  do  it,  and  after  a  somewhat  strenu- 
ous morning  had  the  satisfaction  of  hanging  out  a 
neat  little  line  of  clothes.  We  did  not  omit  point- 
ing the  finger  of  scorn  toward  the  hut  where  our 
washwoman  sulked,  saying  "  Mala,  Mala !  "  to  all 
the  Igorrote  men  who  passed  by,  that  they  might 
see  the  reason  for  our  extraordinary  performances. 
We  decided  not  to  iron  our  wash,  but  have  pulled 
it  out,  and  find  it  quite  as  smooth  as  it  is  usually 
returned  to  us  by  the  ancient  female,  who  began  to 
show  signs  of  life  when  she  saw  the  clothes  dried 
and  taken  into  the  house. 

BAGUIO,  April  29,  1902. 

TO-DAY  we  rode  over  to  Mrs.   King's  school, 
one  of  the  sights  of  Benguet  province.     Mrs. 
King  is  the  wife  of  a  miner  who  is  "  sitting  on  a 
claim  waiting  for  a  mining  law,"  as  they  say  out 
here.     We  understand  that  he  is  a  man  of  means, 
who  made  his  pile  in  the  Klondike,  and  has  come 
to  the  Philippines  because  he  can't  resist  the  fas- 
cination of  hunting  for  gold.     Prospectors  who  have 
18  267 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

stopped  at  the  sanitarium  to  rest  have  reported  that 
he  has  a  good  claim.  It  is  at  the  bottom  of  a  steep 
crevicelike  canon,  so  far  down  in  the  earth  that 
it  will  be  difficult  to  get  the  gold  out  even  if  he 
finds  it. 

The  Ridge,  as  the  Kings  call  the  site  of  their  camp, 
is  four  miles  from  the  sanitarium,  down  one  of  the 
steepest  trails  we  have  yet  attempted.  As  there  had 
been  a  storm  during  the  night,  accompanied  by  hail, 
thunder,  and  lightning,  the  mud  was  deep  in  the 
shade,  and  we  were  obliged  to  dismount  at  times 
and  toil  through  the  sticky  soil,  pulling  our  stubborn 
ponies  behind  us.  In  one  spot  a  thunderbolt  had 
struck  a  pine  tree  and  chiseled  out  a  spiral  of  bark 
from  the  top  to  the  bottom  as  neatly  as  if  done  by 
a  machine.  The  miners  say  the  lightning  always 
strikes  in  that  particular  spot  because  of  the  pres- 
ence of  iron  ore.  Our  journey  was  uneventful  but 
for  a  meeting  on  a  narrow  trail  with  a  herd  of  fine 
little  cows  and  calves  belonging  to  Mateo  Carifio. 
This  caused  a  halt,  and  a  council  of  war  among  the 
women  of  the  party,  one  of  whom  had  on  a  red 
waist.  It  was  finally  decided  that,  as  the  doctor,  in 
case  of  a  charge  from  the  cattle,  would  devote  all 
his  attention  to  rescuing  his  wife,  the  rest  of  us 
would  better  make  a  detour,  leaving  the  road  to 
Mateo's  cows.  This  was  accomplished  safely,  the 
doctor's  wife  joining  us  in  spite  of  her  confidence 
in  "  Jerry,"  who  boldly  charged  the  little  beasts, 

268 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

while  his  wife  looked  on  with  admiration  not  un- 
mixed with  anxiety. 

The  views  were  splendid.  The  soil  of  this  region 
is  bright  red,  and  the  outcropping  rocks  are  brill- 
iantly colored.  The  nearer  views  were  dazzling 
after  the  rain,  and  the  distant  ranges  were  toned  in 
all  gradations  of  blue.  From  the  King's  ridge  there 
was  an  extensive  outlook  over  many  ranges  of  hills 
as  far  as  Mount  Luzon,  which  is  eight  thousand  feet 
high.  Before  we  could  see  the  Kings'  camp  a  shrill 
piping  sound  came  floating  up  the  trail  through  the 
trees.  It  had  a  vaguely  familiar  sound,  and  yet  we 
did  not  recognize  the  tune,  which  we  later  learned 
was  "  Hail,  Columbia."  A  few  steps  farther,  and 
we  saw  the  American  flag  fluttering  across  the  path- 
way, and  under  it  a  log  on  which  were  seated  a 
dozen  or  more  naked  little  Igorrotes,  who  were  try- 
ing to  sing  the  new  song,  clapping  their  hands  and 
heels  together  as  accompaniment. 

King  Camp  at  present  consists  of  a  two-roomed 
shack  built  of  woven  bamboo,  and  a  kitchen,  which 
is  a  roof  supported  on  four  poles.  It  shelters  a 
stove,  a  table,  a  slant-eyed  celestial,  and  a  canvas 
storeroom. 

Mrs.  King  keeps  school  out  of  doors  ordinarily, 
but  there  are  two  movable  benches  in  her  sitting 
room,  and  a  table  covered  with  a  black  rubber 
blanket  which  she  uses  for  a  blackboard.  The 
walls  are  decorated  with  prints,  a  series  of  flags 

269 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

of  all  nations,  and  a  few  charts  for  reading  and 
arithmetic. 

The  Igorrotes  are  clever  basket  makers,  and  the 
house  was  furnished  with  many  specimens  of  their 
handiwork,  utilized  in  an  ingenious  way.  One  big 
sweet-potato  basket  served  as  a  tea  table,  several 
took  the  place  of  stools,  while  soap,  newspapers, 
combs  and  brushes,  shoes  and  books,  were  held  in 
others  of  various  sizes  and  shapes.  The  little  bed- 
room, a  model  of  dainty  neatness,  is  used  by  Mrs. 
King  as  a  jail  for  naughty  little  Igorrotes,  who  are 
put  there  as  a  punishment.  On  the  improvised 
dressing  table  stood  a  tall  bottle  of  violet  water;  a 
few  drops  of  this  on  their  shirts  is  the  highest  re- 
ward of  merit  to  which  the  little  fellows  aspire,  and 
yet  they  have  never  been  known  to  touch  the  bottle 
when  in  jail  and  disgrace.  These  little  savages  be- 
gan school  five  months  ago.  At  that  time  not  one 
of  them  had  ever  been  washed  as  far  as  was  known. 
They  were  covered  with  a  crust  of  dirt  that  only 
came  off  after  repeated  washing.  Their  "  gee 
strings,"  the  native  dress — a  piece  of  cloth  or  bark 
which  passes  around  the  waist  is  brought  between 
the  legs  up  to  the  waist  again  in  front  and  falls 
down  in  a  short  end — were  indescribably  dirty.  As 
to  their  heads,  Mrs.  King  did  not  go  into  particu- 
lars. They  came  to  school  absolutely  ignorant  not 
only  of  the  simplest  elements  of  knowledge — that 
was  expected — but  of  everything  connected  with 

270 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

•civilized  life.  They  did  not  know  how  to  sit  on 
benches,  they  had  never  seen  pencil  or  paper,  a 
piece  of  chalk,  or  a  picture  book.  Mrs.  King  began 
by  taking  them  all  over  the  camp,  naming  the  differ- 
ent articles  of  furniture.  They  learned  these  with 
a  rapidity  that  astonished  their  teacher.  After  she 
had  taught  them  a  number  of  words,  and  had  ac- 
customed them  to  her  presence,  she  began  a  bathing 
crusade.  She  began  by  giving  the  smallest  one  a 
warm  bath,  and  making  him  a  little  cotton  coat. 
She  also  cleaned  his  head  and  combed  his  hair,  and 
then  took  him  as  her  special  pet,  treating  him  to 
food,  and  making  the  others  understand  she  liked 
him  because  he  was  clean.  This  soon  had  its  effect, 
and  the  others  became  candidates  for  a  bath,  until 
she  had  her  hands  full,  and  had  to  send  to  Manila 
for  more  brown  soap.  I  never  saw  Igorrotes  as 
clean  as  these  were,  and  it  was  wonderful  to  see 
Mrs.  King  patting  their  heads  and  shoulders,  taking 
them  on  her  lap,  and  fairly  hugging  one  "  cute  " 
little  specimen.  To  this  disposition  is  doubtless  due 
her  success  as  a  teacher. 

After  we  had  rested,  school  was  called,  and  the 
small  boys  donned  their  little  white  coats  and  sat 
in  two  demure  rows  before  us  ready  to  "  show  off," 
just  like  children  in  a  civilized  country.  In  fact, 
they  were  so  eager  one  to  outdo  the  other  that  they 
could  not  sit  still  or  wait  for  their  turns,  but  chor- 
used their  replies  to  Mrs.  King's  questions.  ,  The 

271 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

questions  and  answers  were  in  English.  Igorrote- 
words  were  given  only  to  be  translated  into  Eng- 
lish. The  rule  was  to  call  on  each  boy  in  turn,  and 
that  no  one  should  prompt  another.  In  the  excite- 
ment this  rule  was  so  frequently  transgressed  that 
at  last  Mrs.  King  stopped  and  said,  "  Boys,  isn't  it 
bad  to  tell?"  "Yes,"  they  chorused,  "all  same 
steal,"  and  proceeded  to  do  it  again.  The  questions 
and  answers  usually  related  to  something  practical. 
"  What  is  this?  "  "  My  arm."  "  What  do  you  do 
with  your  arms  ?  "  "I  chop  wood,  I  dig  camotes, 
I  carry  water."  "What  is  this?"  "My  leg." 
"  What  can  you  do  with  your"  legs  ?  "  "I  run  " — 
then  the  little  fellow  ran—"  I  skip,"  "  I  dance,"  "  I 
hop,"  and  at  each  answer  he  suited  his  action  to  the 
words.  This,  the  language  part  of  the  lesson,  was 
the  most  important,  but  they  can  spell  and  read 
words  of  four  letters,  and  they  know  the  multiplica- 
tion table  through  the  "  four  times."  When  the 
children  first  came  to  school  they  sat  about  at  re- 
cess not  knowing  what  to  do  until  Mrs.  King 
taught  them  ball  and  Prisoners'  Base.  One  day  a 
boy  saw  a  picture  of  a  top  in  the  reading  book,  and 
read  of  spinning  it.  The  next  day  he  brought  a 
rough  imitation  of  a  top  to  school;  this  example 
proving  contagious,  all  the  boys  were  soon  carving 
tops  with  their  bolos.  They  have  learned  to  spin 
them  very  well.  Their  names  are  interesting: 
Malamal,  Ewill,  Chemus,  Paran.  Their  little  faces 

272 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

all  beam  with  intelligence,  and  they  are  perfectly 
obedient  and  docile.  I  have  written  at  such  length 
because  in  America  we  think  of  the  Igorrote  as  the 
savage  par  excellence  of  the  Philippines. 

BAGUIO,  April  30,  1902. 

TO-DAY  we  rode  over  to  the  camp  at  the  Ben- 
guet  end  of  the  new  Manila  road.  This  road, 
you  remember,  was  planned  as  soon  as  the  Commis- 
sion came  to  Manila,  and  the  survey  was  begun  a 
year  ago  last  August.  It  is  to  be  built  between 
Manila  and  Benguet,  forming  a  juncture  with  the 
railway  at  Dagupan.  Almost  everyone  discouraged 
the  idea,  and  until  recently  skeptics  were  numerous 
who  did  not  believe  that  there  was  in  the  islands  a 
province  where  the  weather  was  cool  in  the  hot  sea- 
son. There  have  been  many  persons  here  lately, 
and  reports  have  been  spread  abroad  generally  of 
the  delightful  climate,  so  that  now  no  one  contra- 
dicts the  fact  that  at  an  elevation  of  only  four  thou- 
sand six  hundred  feet,  and  within  the  possibility  of 
a  day's  journey  from  Manila,  is  an  extensive  region 
with  a  cool,  temperate  climate.  From  Dagupan  to 
this  hill  station  is  a  distance  of  fifty-five  miles.  All 
but  fifteen  miles  of  the  road  has  been  finished  in 
such  shape  as  to  be  passable  for  wagons.  The  last 
fifteen  miles,  however,  present  a  difficult  problem  to 
the  road  builders.  In  America  or  Europe  it  would 
be  a  simple  proposition,  and  the  road  could  be  fin- 

273 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

ished  in  a  few  months.  Here,  however,  the  labor 
problem,  the  lack  of  proper  tools,  and  the  scarcity 
of  skilled  bosses  make  it  slow  work.  It  will  be  a 
splendid  driveway  when  finished.  We  went  down 
to  the  road  camp  to-day ;  first,  through  the  familiar 
pine  woods,  and  then,  entering  the  valley  of  the 
river,  a  glorious  view  opened  before  us.  The  color 
is  wonderful.  There  are  no  sweeping  slopes  of 
green,  but  on  all  sides  the  crags  and  ridges  are 
tossed  like  breakers  against  the  mountains.  In  the 
afternoons,  when  clouds  come  sweeping  up  from 
the  west,  piling  up  one  on  another,  they  produce 
beautiful  effects  of  light  and  shade.  The  road  is 
cut  far  up  the  mountainside.  In  many  places  the 
drop  to  the  bed  of  the  river  is  over  fifteen  hundred 
feet.  With  the  foam  lines  clouding  the  green  wa- 
ter, the  river  looks  like  a  vein  of  porphyry  at  the 
bottom  of  the  valley.  In  several  places  there  have 
been  landslides,  and  in  some  places  the  side  of  the 
mountain  has  fallen  out.  The  slides  are  a  menace 
to  the  permanency  of  the  road,  for  the  whole  moun- 
tain seems  to  be  made  of  broken  rock  and  sand,  and 
may  slip  away  at  any  time.  We  found  some  miners 
and  road  employees  at  the  camp.  They  gave  us 
baked  beans  for  lunch,  and  Igorrote  baskets  to  carry 
home  as  curios.  We  walked  down  a  mile  below  the 
camp,  and  saw  the  place  where  last  week  a  man  fell 
fifteen  hundred  feet. 

There    are    several    miners    "  sitting    on    their 
274 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

claims  "  near  the  camp.  At  intervals  all  along  the 
road  we  saw  little  tunnels  dug  into  the  rock  three 
or  four  feet  deep,  and  as  high  as  a  man's  head. 
These  "  show  intention,"  as  the  miners  told  us.  The 
rock  contains  iron  pyrites,  quartz  crystals,  and  cop- 
per ore.  There  were  some  galena  specimens,  silver 
ore  they  called  it,  very  pretty.  Our  trip  back  was 
uneventful,  and  we  were  not  tired,  although  we  had 
ridden  sixteen  miles,  and  most  of  it  on  a  narrow 
trail. 

BAGUIO,  May  2,  1902. 

WE  assisted  this  morning  at  the  thatching  of  the 
provincial  hospital,  which  the  governor  is 
building  in  the  woods  just  below  his  house.  The 
structure  cost  one  hundred  dollars  gold,  and  is  a 
good-sized  building  made  of  pine  framework,  woven 
bamboo  walls,  and  grass-thatched  roof.  For  a  week 
or  more  Igorrotes  of  all  ages,  carrying  great  bunches 
of  the  thatch  on  their  heads,  have  been  trotting  up 
and  down  the  trails  at  a  gait  that  over  this  rough 
country  will  soon  distance  a  good  horse.  Often 
twenty  or  more  Igorrotes  coming  down  the  moun- 
tainside together  would  be  quite  hidden  by  the 
grass  on  their  heads.  The  grass  having  been  gath- 
ered, the  day  of  thatching  was  announced,  and  a 
fiesta  planned.  Over  one  hundred  Igorrotes  were 
on  the  spot  when  we  arrived.  Some  were  tying  the 
bunches  of  thatch  to  the  rafters  with  rattan ;  others, 

275 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

shining  like  bronze  in  the  hot  sun,  stood  balancing 
themselves  on  the  roof  in  the  most  graceful  postures, 
catching  the  thatch  as  it  flew  through  the  air  like 
arrows  from  below,  where  others  were  tossing  it 
up,  bunch  after  bunch,  with  lightninglike  rapidity. 
You  cannot  imagine  anything  more  animated  or  pic- 
turesque than  these  men  and  boys.  The  thatch  was 
a  beautiful  soft  yellow,  and  there  was  a  spicy 
fragrance  in  the  air.  We  sat  on  the  grass  for  an 
hour  or  more  watching  them.  Later  in  the  day  the 
workers  were  treated  to  a  feast  of  roast  pig  washed 
down  with  tapoi.  To  see  them  eat  is  quite  an  ex- 
perience, though  not  as  picturesque  as  the  thatching. 

BAGUIO,  May  4,  1902. 

A7ESTERDAY  we  went  on  a  picnic  to  Trinidad. 
J-  We  decided  to  start  early,  and  were  ready  by 
seven  o'clock.  Then  came  the  usual  and  tiresome 
delays.  First,  the  presidente  did  not  want  to  rent 
his  horses,  and  we  had  to  send  for  them  three  times. 
When  we  had  finally  secured  three,  a  train  of  pa- 
tients came  up  the  trail  with  cut  fingers,  broken 
bones,  and  vaccination  sores.  A  picturesque  woman 
with  a  yellow  handkerchief  around  her  head  came 
with  the  others.  She  had  been  suffering  from 
fever,  and  had  lost  her  hair.  She  would  not  take 
off  the  handkerchief,  as  she  was  ashamed.  A  small 
baby  was  of  the  number,  with  an  awful-looking 
head.  These  were,  one  and  all,  treated,  and  finally, 

276 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

after  an  hour,  we  started.  We  trotted  for  half  an 
hour  over  a  beautiful  road,  through  a  well-watered, 
rice-growing  country;  then  we  passed  through  a 
narrow  gorge  opening  into  a  plain  entirely  sur- 
rounded by  mountains.  The  doctor  and  I,  who  take 
an  ignorant  interest  in  geology,  concluded  that  the 
Trinidad  plain  was  once  a  lake,  and  that  during 
some  primeval  upheaval  the  water  burst  through  the 
mountains,  and  the  plain  was  drained.  There  are 
immense  boulders  in  the  stream  as  it  enters  the  val- 
ley, and  even  greater  ones  at  the  lower  side  where 
it  flows  out.  Our  plan  was  to  visit  the  gorge  where 
the  great  boulders  were,  and  picnic  there.  We  had 
to  use  much  diplomacy  to  avoid  hurting  the  feelings 
of  the  presidente,  the  head  of  the  constabulary,  and 
the  school-teacher,  who  wanted  us  to  take  luncheon 
with  them.  The  doctor's  wife  did  her  best,  and  we 
succeeded  in  getting  away  without  wasting  more 
than  half  an  hour  in  palaver.  The  canon  was  more 
beautiful  than  had  been  reported.  For  a  distance 
of  more  than  three  quarters  of  a  mile  the  river  bed 
was  rilled  with  immense  boulders.  We  boiled  water 
and  I  made  coffee,  which  is  my  special  "  stunt,"  as 
the  doctor  calls  it.  We  were  lucky  in  starting  our 
fire  and  boiling  the  water  before  a  sudden  violent 
rainstorm  came  up.  We  were  cheerfully  eating  the 
lunch  on  a  rock  when,  suddenly,  the  sky  darkened, 
and  a  deluge  of  water  came  down  on  our  heads. 
We  "  hunted  holes  "  without  delay,  and  went  under 

277 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

the  rocks,  where  we  ate  the  remains  of  our  lunch 
in  niches  protected  by  overhanging  boulders.  After 
luncheon  we  washed  sand  for  a  time,  hoping  to  find 
traces  of  gold,  but,  not  finding  enough  to  compen- 
sate our  labor,  we  started  for  a  walk  up  the  moun- 
tain. We  were  energetic,  and  kept  on  climbing  until 
we  reached  the  top  of  a  high  hill,  from  which  we 
could  see  all  over  the  surrounding  country.  I  am 
sure  there  can  be  no  more  beautiful  scenery  any- 
where than  in  these  mountains. 

ITOGAN,  May  6,  1902. 

'T^HIS  morning  we  started  for  Itogan  hot  springs, 
J-  where  a  Calif ornian  and  his  wife  are  working 
a  placer  mine  they  think  will  prove  rich.  Their 
camp  is  twenty  miles  from  the  sanitarium,  and  we 
had  been  invited  to  remain,  overnight,  so  we  packed 
provisions  for  two  days,  and  took  our  blankets. 
Mrs.  Allen,  the  miner's  wife,  is  a  courageous  woman. 
She  has  been  three  weeks  alone  in  the  camp,  with 
only  an  Igorrote  boy  to  help  keep  house.  There  is 
no  white  man  or  woman  within  five  miles,  but  the 
camp  is  off  the  main  trail,  so  she  is  not  afraid.  It 
is  only  the  wandering  white  man  that  one  does  not 
like  to  meet  in  these  mountains. 

There  were  the  usual  delays  in  starting.  Not  long 
ago  all  the  Igorrotes  who  did  not  take  to  the  woods 
were  vaccinated.  As  the  virus  was  good,  and  the 
Igorrotes  had  never  been  vaccinated  before,  it 

278 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

"  took  "  in  fine  style.  On  many  of  the  children's 
legs,  where  they  had  scratched,  there  was  a  series  of 
sores  all  down  the  limb.  They  come  now  in  crowds 
for  talcum  powder  and  salve,  so  every  morning  the 
doctor  has  a  clinic  in  the  front  yard,  while  we  sit 
on  our  horses  telling  him  to  hurry.  Many  of  the 
natives  regard  visiting  the  doctor  a  novel  entertain- 
ment, and  one  could  spend  the  day  trying  to  find  out 
what  they  want. 

The  presidente  has  been  renting  us  poor  horses 
lately,  so  they  have  Jo  be  sent  back  and  exchanged 
every  morning.  The  small  naked  boys,  whose  duty 
it  is  to  catch  them,  are  suspected  of  bringing  in  the 
bad  ones  first  for  the  fun  of  riding  them  up  and 
down  the  trail.  They  do  this  in  companies  of  four 
or  five,  at  a  full  gallop,  bareback,  yelling  like 
Indians.  Then  comes  the  saddling.  As  the  ponies 
are  not  accustomed  to  army  saddles,  we  have  to  be 
very  careful  lest  their  backs  get  sore,  so  each  one 
saddles  his  or  her  pony,  and  various  are  the  appeals 
to  the  doctor  to  know  if  he  thinks  the  saddle  be  too 
far  back,  or  the  cinch  too  tight.  The  doctor's  wife 
is  a  humanitarian,  and  it  takes  a  good  fifteen  min- 
utes to  arrange  her  horse's  cinch.  Our  Igorrote 
carriers,  too,  must  be  packed,  and  their  load  cinched. 
I  generally  carry  the  coffee  pot  slung  to  my  saddle, 
and  Auria  unwillingly  submits  to  the  indignity  of 
carrying  a  frying  pan.  The  patients  with  sore 
heads  and  their  vaccinations  all  wait  to  see  us  start, 

279 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

and  the  house  boys  gather  with  the  rest  of  the  in- 
habitants of  the  sanitarium,  while  the  small  boys 
from  the  presidente's  swing  their  lariats  and  give 
us  an  Indian  whoop  as  we  clatter  away.  Invariably, 
within  five  minutes  after  our  departure,  some  one 
is  heard  calling  a  halt,  and  a  pathetic  voice  from 
one  or  the  other  of  the  four  women  will  be  heard 
exclaiming :  "  I  told  you  so ;  I  knew  his  saddle  was 
too  far  forward."  Then  a  discussion  follows,  every- 
one dismounts,  saddles  are  readjusted,  and  we  start 
again. 

This  morning's  start  was  typical,  and  two  hours 
after  the  appointed  time  we  were  ambling  along  the 
Benguet-Manila  highway,  forgetting  the  vexatious 
delays  in  the  fresh  clear  air.  Our  polista,  or  car- 
rier, was  a  new  man — a  Bussole,  or  head  hunter — 
sent  with  us  by  the  governor  because  he  could  carry 
any  load  for  any  length  of  time,  and  was  withal  a 
most  gentle  savage.  The  head  hunters  do  not  thirst 
for  scalps  irrespective  of  their  owner's  nationality. 
A  Bussole  will  only  take  the  head  of  an  enemy 
fighting  with  his  tribe,  so,  in  spite  of  his  name  and 
the  reputation  he  enjoys,  we  gladly  accepted  him 
as  a  carrier.  He  was  a  lusty  fellow,  and  stepped 
off  with  sixty  pounds  in  his  "  choggy,"  or  basket, 
as  if  it  were  a  featherweight. 

At  noon  we  stopped  for  luncheon  and  a  siesta  in 
a  grove  of  pines.  Here  our  head  hunter  proved  his 
worth,  for,  after  the  sticks  were  gathered  and  the  fire 

280 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

laid,  we  discovered  that  some  one  had  forgotten  the 
matches ;  then,  from  the  folds  of  his  "  gee  string," 
the  Bussole  produced  flint  and  steel,  and  soon  our 
coffee  was  rilling  the  air  with  its  delicious  odor. 

Oh!  these  glorious  days  in  the  mountains  of  the 
tropics.  I  would  gladly  go  on  living  forever,  just 
as  we  are  doing  now,  in  blue  army  shirts  and  cotton 
riding  skirts,  faded  though  they  be,  with  beans, 
bacon,  and  coffee  our  principal  food.  You  should 
see  with  what  appetite  we  eat  them. 

Our  Bussole  joined  us  in  our  luncheon  on  the  out- 
skirts of  the  group,  watching  every  mouthful  we 
ate,  and  imitating  us  as  well  as  he  could.  After  we 
had  finished  he  sat  down  in  the  debris,  and  from  my 
blanket,  with  my  saddle  for  a  pillow,  I  watched  his 
performances.  He  gathered  the  meat  and  jam  tins 
carefully  together,  and  laid  them  in  a  row;  exam- 
ined our  forks,  spoons,  and  knives.  The  knife  and 
the  spoon  were  familiar  objects,  but  the  fork  was 
evidently  new.  He  tried  it  by  sticking  it  into  his 
mouth,  but  evidently  did  not  like  the  feeling,  so  he 
returned  to  the  spoons,  and  carefully  scooped  out 
the  fat  from  the  tinned-beef  can  and  ate  it  with  the 
remaining  jam.  To  my  gratification,  he  then  poured 
water  over  his  fingers,  as  he  had  seen  us  do,  but 
immediately  licked  them  off,  which  he  did  not  see 
us  do.  He  washed  the  dishes  and  packed  them,  and 
then  made  a  little  mound  of  the  tin  cans,  and,  imi- 
tating his  superiors,  went  to  sleep,  using  them  as  a 

281 


pillow.  Don  Octaviano,  the  presidente  of  Trinidad, 
says,  "  Igorrotes  no  sabe  agua,"  which,  translated 
from  the  mongrel  Spanish  all  speak  up  here,  signi- 
fies "  Igorrotes  don't  understand  water."  Our  Bus- 
sole  evidently  did,  but  later  in  the  day,  when  I  tried 
to  teach  some  dirty  little  girls  the  use  of  soap  and 
water  at  a  small  stream,  they  laughed,  put  their 
hands  behind  them  and  ran  away.  Perhaps  the 
head  hunters  are  more  capable  of  civilization  than 
the  less  ferocious  tribes  in  Benguet  province. 

About  three  o'clock  we  left  the  main  road,  and 
started  into  the  unexplored  Itogan  trail.  We  fol- 
lowed it  up  hill  and  down  dale  for  four  hours.  It 
was  a  steep  and  narrow  trail,  and  on  that  account 
all  the  more  interesting.  We  saw  numbers  of  forest 
fires  in  the  distance.  This  is  the  season  when  the 
Igorrotes  burn  off  the  mountainsides  to  give  the 
grass  a  chance  to  grow.  It  is  destructive  to  the 
young  trees,  and  injures  the  larger  ones.  Almost 
all  the  big  trees  show  fire  scars.  While  skirting  a 
barren  ridge  we  were  pursued  by  a  thunderstorm, 
but  managed  to  keep  ahead  of  it,  although  now  and 
again  we  felt  big  drops  of  rain.  The  doctor's  wife 
and  I  took  one  or  two  disastrous  short  cuts,  which 
stranded  us  once  in  an  impassable  ravine,  and  the 
second  time  in  the  path  of  a  carabao  and  her  calf. 
We  consider  ourselves  venturesome,  but  always  turn 
our  horses  and  retreat  when  the  long-horned,  black- 
skinned  carabao  meets  us.  We  met  a  train  of  fifty 

282 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

polistas  in  one  lonely  valley  carrying  rice  to  the 
mountains.  They  were  evidently  not  used  to  seeing 
white  women  and  children,  and  ignorant  of  the 
Spanish  language,  as  they  responded  to  our  greet- 
ings with  unintelligible  gutturals.  Our  horses 
walked  almost  all  the  way,  but  now  and  then  we 
came  out  on  a  smooth  hilltop,  and  then  they  scam- 
pered along  at  a  lively  pace.  The  views  were  su- 
perb. The  big  blue-black  thunderclouds  were  almost 
terrifying  in  their  grandeur.  We  saw  few  signs  of 
life.  Now  and  then  we  came  to  a  small  hut,  and 
on  a  cliff  overhanging  a  river  we  saw  a  large  Igor- 
rote  village  clinging  to  the  rocks.  The  trails  leading 
from  the  village  to  the  river  bed,  six  or  seven  hun- 
dred feet  below  it,  looked  like  red  threads  hanging 
over  the  rocks.  Now  and  then  the  dark  green  of  a 
camote,  or  sweet-potato  patch,  or  the  brighter  hue 
of  a  banana  grove,  nestled  in  the  fold  of  the  moun- 
tains, showed  that  somewhere  in  their  neighborhood 
was  a  hidden  village. 

At  last,  as  we  were  wondering  if  we  had  lost  our 
way,  we  came  out  on  a  shoulder  of  the  mountain 
and  looked  across  a  deep  wide  canon.  Far  down 
in  the  ravine  flowed  a  river,  and,  rising  like  a  bas- 
tion in  the  bend  of  the  stream,  towered  a  steep  cliff- 
A  grove  of  mango  trees  crowned  the  height,  and 
we  recognized  the  description  of  Camp  Allen.  So 
we  rode  on,  although  it  was  over  an  hour  before  we 
forded  the  stream  that  wound  around  the  base  of 
19  283 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

the  natural  fortress  on  which  the  Aliens  had  built 
the  nipa  shack,  and  pitched  the  tents  they  call  home. 
Mrs.  Allen  had  been  watching  us  for  an  hour  as 
we  appeared  first  on  one  point  and  then  on  another 
of  the  narrow  trail  leading  down  the  mountain.  Be- 
fore her  eyes  had  discerned  the  line  of  moving  fig- 
ures, the  little  Igorrote  who  guards  her  and  her 
home  had  spied  us  far  away  against  the  skyline  as 
we  crossed  a  barren  ridge,  and  had  run  excitedly 
to  her,  calling :  "  Senora,  Senora,  Americanos, 
Americanos !  "  After  a  final  climb  that  was  almost 
a  scramble  up  the  steep  narrow  path  to  the  top  of 
the  cliff,  we  came  out  on  to  a  smooth  green  meadow 
shaded  by  the  famous  old  mango  grove,  the  only 
one  growing  at  this  elevation  for  miles  around.  The 
situation  of  the  Allen  camp  is  unique.  It  would 
serve  as  a  fortress  in  time  of  war,  and  yet  once  un- 
der the  mango  trees,  surrounded  by  the  green 
meadows,  looking  off  toward  the  quiet  mountains, 
it  has  a  homelike  air.  After  unsaddling  and  turning 
our  horses  out  to  grass,  we  unpacked  our  provisions 
despite  the  protests  of  our  hostess,  and  volunteered 
to  help  get  supper.  Then  the  doctor's  wife  came  to 
the  front.  She  at  once  decided  to  make  soda  biscuit 
and  tongue  hash.  This  rather  staggered  the  rest 
of  us,  and,  being  unable  to  compete  with  such  deli- 
cacies, Mrs.  Wilson  and  I  meekly  volunteered  to 
set  the  table  in  Mrs.  Allen's  little  dining  room.  The 
bamboo  house  has  three  rooms,  and  they  are  home- 

284 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

like  American  rooms  adorned  with  Filipino  curios 
and  pictures  from  art  magazines  and  periodicals. 
The  Igorrote  servant  had  been  sent  on  a  message 
by  Mrs.  Allen,  so  our  head  hunter  acted  as  waiter, 
and  his  dusky  form  dressed  in  a  simple  "  gee  string  " 
lent  local  color  to  the  scene.  The  little  table  was 
fresh,  and  the  white  china  and  the  silver  spoons 
(we  had  tin  ones  at  the  sanitarium)  gave  such  an 
air  of  home  to  the  scene  that  one  might  have  fan- 
cied himself  in  America  had  it  not  been  for  the 
presence  of  this  naked  savage  handing  around  cups, 
especially  as  he  had  donned  a  red  turban  as  full 
dress,  which  gave  him  a  warlike  appearance. 

Later  we  began  our  preparations  for  the  night. 
Mrs.  Allen  had  only  three  cots.  Mrs.  Wilson  and 
Auria  were  assigned  to  the  two  extra  ones,  while 
the  doctor,  his  wife,  and  I  decided  to  sleep  under 
the  mango  trees.  It  was  a  clear  night.  The  storm 
clouds  had  passed  away,  and  the  stars  glittered  as 
they  can  do  only  in  the  tropics.  It  is  much  warmer 
here  than  at  Baguio,  as  we  are  fifteen  hundred 
feet  lower.  The  pine  does  not  grow  on  these  lower 
levels,  and  the  mango,  banana,  palm,  and  cocoa- 
nut  flourish.  You  know  how  hard  it  is  to  sleep 
"  under  a  strange  roof."  For  hours  I  lay  without 
even  a  piece  of  canvas  over  my  head,  looking  up 
into  the  starry  night,  and,  although  I  tried  all  the 
usual  devices  to  induce  sleep,  I  could  not  close  my 
eyes.  Opposite  us  in  an  open  tent,  with  a  lighted 

285 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

candle  between  them,  throwing  their  figures  into 
full  view,  lay  the  two  Igorrotes.  One  was  on  the 
ground,  and  the  other  on  a  bench  above  him.  They 
seemed  interested  in  each  other's  company,  and 
talked  together  in  guttural  tones,  every  now  and 
then  breaking  into  the  weird  chant  of  which  I  have 
so  often  written.  Mrs.  Wilson  and  Mrs.  Allen 
were  gossiping  away  like  two  schoolgirls  in  the 
house,  and  the  grass  walls  did  not  in  the  least  deaden 
their  voices. 

After  an  hour  or  so  the  Igorrotes  and  the  ladies 
ceased  their  interchange  of  confidences,  and  other 
noises  less  reassuring  intruded  themselves  on  my 
ears.  The  doctor  had  advised  us  to  tie  up  our  heads 
and  ears  in  towels  as  a  precaution  against  dew  and 
insects.  As  a  child,  I  disliked  to  have  my  ears  cov- 
ered, and  I  like  it  no  better  now;  so  I  tossed  and 
turned,  and  finally,  when  I  could  endure  it  no 
longer,  I  took  off  the  towel,  preferring  to  risk  the 
danger  of  a  cockroach  walking  into  my  ear.  People 
talk  of  the  vast  solitude  and  the  stillness  of  the 
night.  I  never  heard  so  many  noises  in  my  life. 
There  was  a  steady  crunch,  crunch,  and  the  frequent 
snort  of  our  horses  as  they  cropped  the  short  grass. 
A  thousand  insects  filled  the  air  with  whizz  and 
whirr,  making  me  re-cover  my  ears  precipitately, 
only  to  uncover  them  at  some  unusual  sound.  From 
far  away  came  the  tap  of  a  native  drum.  A  melan- 
choly owl,  or  night  bird,  with  a  hoarse  cry,  wheeled 

286 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

round  and  round  our  mountain  top.  Now  and 
again  a  low  guttural  sound  from  the  Igorrotes 
caused  me  to  reflect  on  the  tales  I  had  heard  of  head 
hunters,  and  the  impossibility  of  even  a  handsome 
young  Bussole  like  our  carrier  winning  a  bride  un- 
less one  head  at  least  hangs  at  his  cabin  door.  Here 
was  his  chance  to  secure  at  least  three  fine  speci- 
mens with  nice  long  scalp  locks.  This  thought, 
however  terrifying,  did  not  drive  me  from  my  blan- 
ket. But  soon  another  and  more  horrible  idea  was 
seized  on  by  my  wakeful  imagination.  Suppose  an 
Igorrote  pig  or  two — what  more  likely — should  come 
rooting  about  my  pillow?  I  certainly  heard  their 
grunts,  and  everywhere  their  soft  footfalls  came  to 
my  ears.  I  did  not  scream  nor  call  the  doctor,  nor 
disturb  the  doctor's  wife,  but  I  straightway  arose, 
took  up  my  bed  and  walked  into  the  house,  where 
I  slept  in  peace,  if  not  in  comfort,  on  the  floor.  This 
morning  I  was,  of  course,  somewhat  shamefaced 
when  the  doctor  and  his  wife  glorified  the  incom- 
parable beauty  of  the  morning  star.  I'll  sit  up  some 
night  to  see  it,  but  I  will  not  sleep  on  the  ground 
where  Igorrote  pigs — you  should  see  the  beasts — 
can  wander  among  my  pillows. 

ITOGAN,  May  7,  1902. 

T^HIS  morning,  after  a  fine  breakfast  cooked  by 
the  whole  party  in  concert,  the  doctor,  his  wife, 
Auria,  and  I  went  down  to  the  river  to  wash  for 

287 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

gold,  and  to  take  a  sulphur  bath.  It  is  much  hotter 
here  than  we  imagined,  and  by  half-past  eight  it 
was  too  warm  to  be  comfortable,  but  we  were  deter- 
mined to  see  the  golden  river  from  which  Mr.  Allen 
expects  to  dig  a  fortune,  and  to  explore  the  Itogan 
sulphur  springs,  which  may  some  day  become  the 
site  of  a  fashionable  water-cure  establishment.  The 
river  is  broad  and  rocky,  a  raging  torrent  in  the 
winter,  but  at  the  end  of  the  dry  season  it  is  what 
a  Californian  would  call  a  dry  creek.  The  Igorrote 
women  do  the  gold  washing  in  flat  tin  pans,  and, 
they  say,  make  successful  miners,  although  the  labor 
supply  is  very  limited,  wages  not  being  an  induce- 
ment. Mr.  Allen  has  dug  long  ditches  in  the  river 
bed,  removing  the  rock  and  debris  till  he  has 
reached  sand.  We  carried  each  a  pie  plate  with  us, 
and  started  in  at  once  to  locate  a  temporary  claim. 
We  had  been  instructed  to  look  for  "  color,"  so  we 
patiently  cradled  the  sand  back  and  forth  eagerly 
seeking  traces  of  the  golden  sand,  but  rinding  none. 
Half  roasted,  and  reflecting  that  the  mines  were  al- 
ready located,  we  decided  to  sample  the  sulphur 
springs,  a  water  cure  being  more  in  the  doctor's  line 
than  a  gold  mine.  As  we  ascended  the  stream  the 
banks  closed  in  until  the  rocky  bed  of  the  river  al- 
most filled  the  canon.  The  banks  were  yellow  sand- 
stone, covered  with  orange  stains  and  dripping  with 
moisture  from  sulphur  streams,  which  sent  up  puffs 
and  cloudlets  of  steam.  At  one  spot  the  springs 

288 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

were  gushing  out  of  the  bank,  sending  down  a 
stream  of  hot  water  that  ran  parallel  with  the  cold 
river  water  for  some  distance,  and  then,  uniting 
with  it,  formed  the  curious  phenomenon  of  a  river 
with  a  hot  side  and  a  cold  side.  We  sent  the  doctor 
upstream  to  hunt  a  bathing  place,  and  began  our 
preparations  for  a  bath.  Each  selected  the  tempera- 
ture most  pleasing  to  her.  This  was  not  easy,  for 
the  water  was  either  too  hot  or  too  cold,  generally 
the  former.  Finally,  however,  each  found  a  pool  to 
her  liking,  and  found  the  water  extremely  soothing 
to  various  insect  bites,  the  inevitable  result  of  sleep- 
ing on  the  floor  in  a  bamboo  shack.  The  chapter  of 
accidents  attending  our  emergence  from  the  sulphur 
pool,  changing  from  wet  to  dry  clothes,  and  gath- 
ering together  of  our  various  garments  from  dry 
rocks  in  distant  parts  of  the  stream,  cannot  be  set 
down  here. 

This  afternoon  a  storm  came  down  the  mountain, 
and  it  is  pouring  now.  We  had  much  difficulty  in 
getting  our  dinner,  as  the  wood  was  wet,  and  there 
were  too  many  cooks.  Our  head  hunter  also  showed 
a  too  rapid  progress  in  civilization.  When  we  gave 
him  a  pail  to  fetch  water  from  the  stream,  he  de- 
manded by  signs  a  lantern  and  the  doctor's  rain  coat. 
As  he  was  already  quite  wet  to  his  skin  in  conse- 
quence of  his  total  lack  of  clothing,  we  could  only 
attribute  his  desire  for  a  rain  coat  to  a  reprehensible 
love  of  finery,  which  we  felt  it  necessary  to  repress, 

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UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

so  we  hung  the  rain  coat  away  and  put  the  lantern 
in  a  corner. 

As  I  write,  the  wind  is  rattling  the  bamboo  house, 
and  the  rain  pouring  off  the  thatch  in  torrents. 

BAGUIO,  May  8,  1902. 

r  I^HE  first  thing  I  saw  this  morning  as  I  peered 
J-  out  into  the  morning  light  was  our  head  hunter 
returning  from  the  river  with  a  pail  of  water  on  his 
head,  carrying  the  unlighted  lantern  in  his  hand  and 
wearing  the  doctor's  rain  coat.  The  storm  was  over, 
and  the  sky  serene. 

By  six  o'clock  we  were  off  for  Baguio.  The  trail 
was  muddy,  but  generally  uphill,  which  is  easier 
than  a  down  grade.  We  were  four  hours  returning. 
We  did  not  stop  for  luncheon  en  route,  but  rode 
steadily  along  without  halting. 

We  found  the  storm  had  been  severe  at  Baguio, 
and  the  meadow  below  the  sanitarium,  where  our 
horses  usually  graze,  was  a  lake.  We  were  wel- 
comed as  adventurers  returned  from  new  and  un- 
discovered countries,  and  were  regaled  with  wine, 
jelly,  and  cake  for  dessert.  A  company  of  patients, 
including  a  lame  carabao,  was  awaiting  the  doctor's 
return ;  several  of  them  had  been  camping  under  the 
trees  since  the  day  before.  We  are  all  so  delighted 
with  the  success  of  the  trip  to  Itogan  that  we  are 
now  contemplating  a  camping  expedition  to  Mount 
Luzon. 

290 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

BAGUIO,  May  18,  1902. 

SINCE  our  trip  to  Itogan,  we  have  been  rather 
quiet,  taking  our  luncheon  to  heights  nearby, 
and  spending  long  afternoons  reading  or  writing. 
One  of  our  favorite  haunts  is  the  flat  top  of  a  high 
mountain  standing  like  a  watch  tower  at  the  head 
of  a  deep  green  valley.  Below  it  the  emerald  rice 
fields  glitter  in  the  sun,  and  beyond  them  the  dis- 
tant heights  are  crowned  at  this  season  of  the  year 
with  snow-white  clouds.  There  are  a  few  fine  trees 
and  a  bamboo  hut  in  this  delectable  spot.  At  noon 
we  make  our  coffee,  and  toast  our  bacon  in  the 
rough  stone  fireplace  of  the  cabin,  and  during  the 
long  afternoons  we  read  or  sew,  and  watch  the  big 
thunderstorms  come  up  from  the  China  Sea.  They 
do  not  always  reach  us,  but  there  is  the  probability 
that  they  will,  and  there  is  fun  in  guessing  just  how 
far  they  will  fulfill  their  muttered  threats.  Once  in 
a  while  we  are  surprised  by  an  attack  from  the  rear, 
where,  by  a  flanking  movement,  the  storm  has 
reached  us  unawares,  and  a  deluge  through  the 
chimney  place  causes  us  to  gather  ourselves  together 
in  the  dry  end  of  the  cabin.  Trains  of  passing 
polistas  peer  in  at  the  door,  smilingly  greet  us  with 
"  mucho  bueno,"  or,  if  the  storm  be  on,  they  crowd 
into  the  hut  and,  while  waiting  for  its  passage,  lick 
the  oil  from  empty  sardine  tins  or  smack  their  lips 
over  scraps  of  bacon  and  biscuit  we  politely  offer 
them.  When  they  have  gone  we  invariably  shake 

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UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

out  our  skirts,  but  we  like  the  polistas,  and  encour- 
age their  coming.  When  the  storm  has  passed, 
every  living  thing  begins  to  move.  The  grass 
straightens  up,  and  all  creeping  and  jumping  things 
stretch  their  legs.  From  the  winding  mountain 
trails  we  hear  the  twanging  of  the  camote-carrier's. 
jew's-harp,  and  from  the  nearer  villages  the  beating 
of  drums.  Then  we  join  the  rest  of  the  world,  and, 
beating  time  on  tin  pans  or  tomato  cans,  practice  a 
dance  we  learned  at  Mateo  Carino's  tiyoiv.  Corned- 
beef  hash  and  canned  peach  pie  is  our  principal  diet 
just  now  at  the  sanitarium,  for  washouts  on  the  San 
Fernando  road  have  delayed  the  transportation  of 
commissary  supplies.  We  are  too  hungry  to  grum- 
ble, however,  and  the  sweet  potatoes  are  always 
good. 

Last  Friday  we  made  a  long  trip  over  the  moun- 
tains. Our  objective  point  was  Tublai,  where  we 
hoped  to  get  some  horses  and  fresh  eggs,  but  a 
storm  came  on  before  we  reached  our  destination, 
and  we  were  obliged  to  return  without  visiting  the 
village.  The  trail  led  us  through  an  unexplored 
country  into  the  rice  district,  where  the  natives,  with 
Japanese  industry,  have  terraced  whole  mountain- 
sides. Carefully  laid  stone  walls  support  patches  of 
rice  only  a  few  feet  wide.  The  terraces  rise  irregu- 
larly one  above  another  hundreds  of  feet  up  the 
mountainside.  The  irrigating  stream  is  carried  along 
the  side  of  the  hills  in  a  sluice,  and  then  led  down 

292 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

from  one  terrace  to  another,  so  that  there  is  a  con- 
stantly running  stream  through  all  the  paddies.  We 
looked  off  on  a  whole  region  of  these  terraced  hills. 
The  miners'  complaint'  that  Igorrotes  will  not  work 
does  not  seem  to  be  well  founded,  in  this  district  at 
least.  We  passed  through  one  village  where  the 
houses  were  substantially  built  of  heavy  timbers, 
with  a  large  loft  for  storing  rice  straw. 

We  did  some  rough  riding,  scrambling  over  stony 
hillsides  where  the  track  was  all  but  invisible.  In 
one  narrow  path  the  doctor's  wife  and  I,  who  were 
riding  ahead,  came  upon  our  bete  noire — a  carabao. 
This  time  I  determined  to  stand  my  ground,  so,  ad- 
vancing slowly  but  firmly,  I  said  "  shoo  "  in  a  weak, 
wavering  tone,  which  would  have  betrayed  my  state 
of  mind  to  any  beast  but  a  carabao.  Instead  of 
charging  and  goring  us,  as  we  almost  expected,  he 
plunged  down  a  steep  bank  to  get  out  of  our  way. 
We  ate  our  luncheon  on  the  roadside. 

Although  the  morning  had  been  warm  and  clear, 
by  noon  the  sky  was  overcast,  and  everything  indi- 
cated an  afternoon  deluge,  so  we  decided,  as  Tublai 
was  five  miles  away  over  an  uphill  trail,  we  would 
better  wait  for  a  more  propitious  day.  Before  the 
discussion  had  ended,  and  our  decision  was  reached, 
big  drops  of  rain  came  pelting  through  the  trees, 
and  everyone  scrambled  to  saddle  his  horse  and  get 
out  his  poncho.  One  wears  a  poncho  to  keep  him 
dry,  but  it  is  the  most  successful  contrivance  for  get- 

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UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

ting  one  wet  I  have  ever  put  on.  It  gathers  the 
drops  of  water,  and  sends  them  in  streams  down  its 
folds  into  your  skirts  and  shoes.  The  wind  catches 
it  and  sends  it  over  your  head,  which  precipitates  a 
flood  into  your  neck  and  ears,  besides  clinging  to 
and  nearly  strangling  you.  Before  you  can  possibly 
get  it  in  place  your  back  is  soaking  wet.  By  this 
time,  unless  your  pony  is  an  army  mule,  the  animal 
you  are  riding  has  shied,  and  perhaps  thrown  you 
off,  for  the  side  flaps  of  the  poncho  have  been  slap- 
ping his  ears  and  eyes  during  your  eclipse.  My 
method  is  to  take  the  poncho  on  every  trip  neatly 
rolled  and  tied  into  its  proper  place  in  my  army 
saddle.  It  makes  a  cool  pillow  and  serves  as  a  table- 
cloth, but  if  it  begins  to  rain  I  put  it  back  in  its 
straps,  and  keep  it  there  until  the  sun  comes  out. 
So,  in  spite  of  friendly  advice,  I  sat  on  my  poncho 
as  we  turned  our  horses'  heads  down  the  trail.  In 
almost  no  time  I  was  wet  to  the  skin,  but  so  were 
my  companions  in  their  ponchos.  Benguet  is  not 
tropical,  and  a  rain  and  windstorm  is  cold  as  well 
as  wet,  so  after  plodding  along  in  a  dripping  condi- 
tion for  half  an  hour  we  turned  our  horses'  heads 
in  the  direction  of  an  Igorrote  village,  and,  tying 
them  under  the  eaves,  entered  one  of  the  biggest 
shacks.  It  was  hardly  cheerful  even  for  an  Igorrote 
interior,  and  the  stuffy  damp  air  was  not  inviting, 
but  a  fire  flickered  on  the  ground  at  one  end  and  a 
big  heap  of  wood  lay  near  by,  so  we  made  our  way 

294 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

toward  it,  stumbling  over  several  blanketed  forms. 
These  arose  with  grunts,  and,  perceiving  our  plight, 
piled  wood  on  the  fire  and  offered  us  logs,  their 
substitute  for  chairs.  We  soon  perceived  by  the 
light  of  the  kindling  flames  a  woman  and  several 
small  children  crouching  on  a  platform  at  the  upper 
end  of  the  hut.  There  was  no  furniture;  a  few 
earthen  jars,  an  iron  pot,  and  the  ever-present  kero- 
sene-oil can  served  as  their  cooking  utensils,  and 
old  cotton  blankets  as  their  bedclothes.  Having 
built  up  the  fire,  our  hosts  reached  the  limits  of  all 
possible  hospitality,  and  retired  again  to  the  floor 
and  their  blankets.  Only  the  little  beady  eyes  of 
the  babies  gleamed  out  of  the  darkness;  they  alone 
took  any  interest  in  the  proceedings  of  the  strangers. 
For  half  an  hour  we  steamed  in  front  of  the  fire, 
not  drying  our  clothes  in  the  least.  I  emptied  the 
water  out  of  my  shoes  and  dried  my  stockings,  weep- 
ing smoky  tears.  The  air  in  the  meantime  became 
more  and  more  stifling,  but  the  hoped-for  lull  in  the 
storm  did  not  come,  so  we  decided  the  open  air  and 
rain  were  preferable  to  smoky  steam  and  Igorrotes. 
By  the  time  our  little  cavalcade  was  well  started 
the  trail  was  a  rushing  river,  and  at  the  first  steep 
descent  our  hitherto  patient  and  willing  beasts  re- 
volted ;  mine  stood  stock  still,  refusing  to  move,  and 
halfway  down  the  slope  two  more  followed  his  bad 
example.  These  three  animals  were,  unfortunately, 
those  ridden  by  the  women  of  the  party,  and  an 

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UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

animated  discussion  arose;  offers  on  the  part  of 
the  men  to  exchange  horses  were  refused  with 
scorn,  and  each  woman  determined  to  conquer  her 
mount.  The  result  may  be  divined  by  the  fact  that 
half  an  hour  later  three  bedraggled  women  were 
plunging  ankle  deep  in  water,  leading  reluctant 
ponies  that  pulled  backward,  and  laid  their  ears 
flat  against  their  necks  at  every  encouraging  word 
from  their  mistresses.  By  this  time  the  line  of 
march  was  somewhat  stretched  out.  Our  leader, 
who  after  his  offer  to  exchange  ponies  had  been 
politely  but  firmly  repulsed,  found  the  cause  of  pony 
.obstinacy  in  the  soft-heartedness  of  the  female 
nature,  and  rode  ahead,  just  keeping  us  in  sight 
from  projecting  spurs  of  the  mountain.  At  last  we 
saw  him  no  more  for  some  time,  and  imagined  him 
trotting  steadily  on  by  aid  of  whip  and  spur.  What 
was  our  surprise  and  delight,  although  we  hypo- 
critically hid  the  latter  sentiment,  on  plunging  into 
a  little  ravine  to  find  him  seated  on  a  rock  in  the 
midst  of  rushing  waters  holding  on  to  his  beast, 
that  stood  planted  on  the  bank,  all  four  feet  well 
anchored  in  the  mud,  and  his  ears  farther  back  than 
those  of  our  own  stubborn  ones.  We  offered  ad- 
vice, and  proposed  tying  the  whole  bunch  together, 
and  attacking  them  at  both  ends ;  but  our  erstwhile 
lordly  leader  was  not  communicative,  and  evidently 
preferred  to  be  let  alone,  so  we  all  resumed  our 
weary  task  of  dragging  and  pushing  the  little  beasts 

296 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

uphill.  Now  and  then  on  level  ground  they  would 
allow  us  to  mount,  and  carry  us  to  the  next  plunge, 
but  he  who  knows  the  Benguet  mountains  will  re- 
member how  few  and  far  between  these  level 
stretches  are.  Finally,  the  tender  -  heartedness 
ascribed  to  female  character  fell  away  from  all  three 
of  us.  At  dusk  we  dragged  ourselves  into  Trinidad, 
where  the  streets  were  rushing  torrents,  and  the 
village  seemed  deserted.  At  the  house  of  the  school- 
teacher we  were  comforted  with  dry  sweaters  and 
such  portions  of  masculine  attire  as  it  was  possible 
for  us  to  use,  and  a  certain  "  non-alcoholic  "  bever- 
age which,  nevertheless,  sent  warm  waves  through 
chilled  limbs  and  heartened  us  up  for  the  rest  of  the 
journey. 

By  this  time  the  party  had  decided  to  separate  into 
pairs  and  not  wait  for  each  other,  so,  when  I  set  off, 
it  was  in  company  with  the  long-legged  governor  of 
Benguet,  who  promised  to  see  me  through,  and  he 
did.  His  mount  was  fresh,  brought  in  by  an  accom- 
modating consejale,  and  mine  ought  to  have  been 
fresh,  as  I  had  pulled  him  up  all  the  hills  that  lie  be- 
tween Trinidad  and  the  fork  where  the  main  road 
sweeps  over  the  hills  to  Tublai.  So  the  governor 
tied  a  rope  to  his  neck,  and  we  started  off,  he  towing 
and  I  beating  my  nag  not  cruelly,  but  firmly  and  con- 
tinuously. We  made  two  stops  on  our  way,  one 
at  the  little  inn  kept  by  a  peasant  from  the  far  south ' 
of  France,  who  has  drifted  into  this  country,  and 

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UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

has  already  surrounded  himself  with  certain  ac- 
cessories that  have  created  the  unmistakable  at- 
mosphere of  his  native  land.  A  patch  of  garden 
vegetables,  a  neat  railing  about  the  place,  a  tethered 
goat,  and  an  odor  of  sour  red  wine  and  garlic  gave 
one  a  delightful  sense  of  the  unexpected  and  famil- 
iar. At  the  Whitmarsh  place  my  pony  refused  to 
be  towed  or  beaten  any  farther,  so  we  turned  in 
and  spent  a  brief  half  hour  of  delicious  warmth  be- 
side their  hospitable  open  fire.  We  were  no  longer 
very  wet,  for  the  rain  had  ceased  just  as  we  left 
Trinidad,  and  when  Mr.  Whitmarsh's  own  pony  was 
brought  to  me,  and  a  stirrup  cup  of  some  delicious 
and,  I  suspect,  not  "  non-alcoholic  "  mixture  drunk 
to  the  health  of  our  hostess,  the  stars  were  brilliant 
above  us,  and  we  took  the  road  at  a  gallop  that 
made  me  forget  all  the  weary  miles  that  lay  behind, 
and  the  lights  of  the  sanitarium  gleamed  all  too  soon 
over  the  marshland.  No  one  took  cold,  and  no  one 
was  even  stiff  the  next  day ;  even  my  wretched  lit- 
tle pony  looked  fresh  and  gay,  and  I  thought  I  de- 
tected something  in  his  small  eyes  that  said :  "  I 
rather  enjoyed  the  trip,  after  all — didn't  you  ?  " 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 


IX 

THE    RETURN    FROM  THE    MOUNTAINS 

SAN  FERNANDO,  June  8,  1902. 

AT'ESTERDAY  morning  we  left  Baguio,  after  a 
J-  three  months'  visit,  every  moment  of  which  has 
been  full  of  interest  and  pleasure.  These  mountains 
would  not  be  a  bad  place  in  which  to  spend  one's 
declining  years,  although,  when  I  gave  this  opinion 
the  other  day,  the  doctor  suggested  that  I  might  not 
enjoy  the  trails  in  my  declining  years  as  much  as  I 
do  now.  We  might  have  lingered  here  indefinitely, 
but  the  rainy  season  began  in  earnest,  and  we  were 
warned  by  passing  travelers  that  the  trails  would 
soon  be  impassable.  Last  week  a  typhoon  washed 
out  several  miles  of  new  road  on  the  Manila-Ben- 
guet  highway,  and  during  a  visit  down  in  the  flats 
the  little  stream  we  crossed  on  stepping-stones  rose 
ten  feet  in  two  hours,  carrying  away  trees  and  other 
landmarks.  All  the  polistas  have  reported  "  mucha 
agua,"  and  finally  letters  from  Manila  became 
pressing.  To  get  away  from  Baguio  required  time 
and  diplomacy.  First,  the  governor  was  consulted, 
and  his  good-will  enlisted  with  the  Igorrotes  that 
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UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

we  might  obtain  a  sufficient  number  of  polistas  to 
carry  our  luggage  down  to  Naguilian.  Then  the 
journey  was  timed  so  that  we  might  get  down  the 
trail  between  rainstorms.  We  planned  to  start  last 
Monday,  hoping  we  might  get  off  Tuesday  or 
Wednesday,  but  it  was  Thursday  morning  before 
all  our  polistas  arrived  and  our  horses  were  ready. 
Even  then  we  did  not  leave  the  sanitarium  at  six 
o'clock,  as  every  party  should  do.  The  nonappear- 
ance  of  half  the  polistas  caused  the  delays.  A  din- 
ner at  the  governor's  the  evening  before  our  de- 
parture was  the  cause  of  our  late  start,  for  a  young 
pig  had  been  killed  to  grace  the  feast,  and  Bug  Tong, 
factotum  and  chief  cook,  also  gave  a  little  dinner 
in  the  kitchen  to  visiting  polistas  after  we  had  dined. 
We  heard  the  sounds  of  revelry,  and  perceived  the 
odor  of  rice  wine  as  we  were  taking  leave  of  our 
host.  At  all  events,  Bug  Tong,  who  was  sent  in 
quest  of  lost  polistas,  returned  at  nine  o'clock  with 
the  missing  ones.  They  looked  sleepy  and  shame- 
faced as  they  loaded  up  for  the  journey.  Auria  had 
a  chair  carried  by  two  strong  fellows. 

Miss  Norton,  a  school-teacher  returning  to  her 
work  in  Manila  after  an  outing  in  the  mountains; 
Morris,  the  guide,  and  I  went  on  horseback.  Miss 
Norton  is  a  sensible  sort  of  person  in  general,  but 
she  has  certain  habits  and  customs  which  are  pecul- 
iar and  original.  One  of  these  is  her  manner  of 
mounting  and  dismounting  from  a  horse.  She  says 

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AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

it  "  comes  natural  "  to  her,  and  "  it's  the  right  way 
on  a  bicycle,"  so  she  invariably  gets  on  and  off  her 
pony  over  its  head.  We  all  ride  "  man  fashion," 
as  the  governor  calls  it,  and  the  saddles  are  of  the 
cowboy  pattern  with  a  high  pommel  to  hold  the 
lasso.  So  Miss  Norton's  method  of  mounting  has 
its  disadvantages.  Finally,  we  set  off,  accompanied 
by  the  governor  as  escort  and  guide,  over  the  Ireson 
trail,  a  steep  and  beautiful  short  cut  we  did  not  dare 
venture  to  take  alone.  It  was  rougher  and  nar- 
rower than  our  accustomed  trails,  and  slippery  with 
mud,  but  now  and  then  we  rode  through  wide  green 
glades,  dotted  with  beautiful  trees,  and  through  the 
branches  we  caught  glimpses  of  the  China  Sea.  All 
the  streams  were  swollen,  and  the  dry  river  beds 
we  had  crossed  on  our  trip  up  to  Baguio  in  April 
were  rushing  torrents.  Vegetation,  too,  was  more 
luxuriant  everywhere.  Large-leaved  plants  fringed 
the  water  courses. 

Above  the  banks  of  the  Ireson  River  we  ate  our 
farewell  luncheon  with  the  governor,  lingering  in 
the  shadow  of  the  pines,  hating  to  leave  the  cool 
shade  for  the  hot  country  below  us.  Just  for  the 
fun  of  seeing  us  get  wet,  the  governor  volunteered 
to  cross  the  river  with  us.  The  fun  was  for  us  as 
it  turned  out,  for  the  stream  was  deeper  than  we 
imagined,  and  the  governor  could  not  tuck  up  his 
long  legs  under  him  as  we  did  our  shorter  ones, 
so  he  soaked  his  boots  and  trousers,  and  we  left  him 

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UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

ruefully  contemplating  the  return  trip.  Having  re- 
gretfully said  good-by,  we  realized  that  our  picnic 
had  made  heavy  inroads  on  the  afternoon,  and  that 
eighteen  miles  lay  between  us  and  our  camp  at 
Sablan.  Already  great  white  clouds  were  piling  up 
over  the  China  Sea,  and  we  knew  that  in  all  proba- 
bility they  held  torrents  of  rain  under  their  soft 
fleecy  coats.  The  ride  was  a  test  of  nerve  and  en- 
durance, and  we  all  considered  our  record  a  good 
one.  In  many  places  the  trail  had  been  washed  into 
a  deep  gully  with  slanting  sides,  along  which  my 
horse  scrambled  in  a  manner  that  made  me  hold  my 
breath.  Farther  on  it  was  a  succession  of  holes, 
one  below  the  other,  like  a  series  of  steps.  At  these 
places  Miss  Norton  invariably  stopped  her  horse  and 
dismounted  over  its  head,  running  a  fearful  risk  of 
swinging  him  and  herself  headlong  down  the  steep 
trail.  We  did  not  stop  often  nor  talk  much,  for  it 
was  serious  work,  but  now  and  then  I  involuntarily 
held  up  my  pony  to  look  at  the  glorious  views 
around  me.  About  four  o'clock  we  heard  low  mut- 
terings  of  distant  thunder,  and  knew  that  the  storm 
was  breaking  below  us.  The  polistas  with  our  bag- 
gage, and  the  chair  carrier  with  Auria,  hurried  on, 
hoping  to  reach  Sablan  before  the  rain  came.  I  sent 
Morris  with  Auria  and  the  carriers,  and  Miss  Nor- 
ton, whose  horse  was  a  faster  walker  than  mine, 
soon  left  me  behind. 

I  was  not  sorry  to  ride  alone  in  the  strange,  won- 
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AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

derful  country  of  tree  ferns  with  the  background  of 
mountains,  and  in  front  of  me  the  spread  of  the 
shining  sea.  One  of  the  many  drawbacks  of  the 
trail  was  a  tall  grass  with  thin  leaves  whose  sharp 
edges  cut  like  a  knife  if  they  chanced  to  touch  one's 
face  or  hands.  The  thunderstorm  kept  creeping  up, 
and  as  I  dipped  down  into  a  steep  ravine  I  felt  a 
few  drops  of  rain.  The  trail  was  completely  washed 
away  at  this  place,  and  just  as  the  rain  began,  and 
I  was  trying  to  button  up  my  waterproof  cape,  it 
suddenly  came  to  an  end,  and  dropped  down  per- 
pendicularly six  or  eight  feet.  My  horse  happily 
stopped  on  the  edge  of  the  break,  and  I  dismounted, 
when  he  suddenly  turned  around  and  bolted  up  the 
trail.  I  was  far  behind  the  others,  and  had  no  one 
to  send  after  him,  so  back  I  went,  and  succeeded  in 
catching  him  after  a  tiresome  climb  of  ten  or  fifteen 
minutes.  By  this  time  it  was  pouring,  and  I  was 
wet  to  the  skin.  My  pony  would  not  let  me  mount, 
and  I  had  to  drive  him  before  me  down  the  narrow 
trail.  For  an  hour  and  a  half  I  plodded,  slipped^ 
and  slid  up  and  down  that  wet,  steep  mountainside. 
Half  the  time  the  trail  was  a  miniature  river  run- 
ning over  me  ankle  deep.  It  was  dark  and  cold 
under  the  trees  at  the  bottom  of  the  canons,  and  I 
felt  limp  and  miserable,  but  on  I  went.  At  last  I 
reached  the  little  valley  of  Sablan,  where  our  camp 
lay,  and  as  I  rode  into  the  glade  that  surrounds  it 
the  sky  began  to  clear,  and,  in  spite  of  my  depressed 

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UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

state  of  mind  and  wet  clothes,  I  could  but  enjoy  the 
pink  and  pearl  tints  in  the  sky  and  the  delicious 
fragrance  of  the  great  bunches  of  white  lilies  grow- 
ing in  profusion  everywhere.  Arriving  at  the  hut, 
I  found  everyone  wet,  and  the  polistas  trying  to 
light  a  fire  with  damp  wood.  The  hut  was  dry,  and, 
as  I  had  a  change  of  clothing  in  the  poncho,  Auria 
and  I  were  soon  comfortable,  although  almost  suf- 
focated with  the  smoke  from  the  fire.  As  no  one 
seemed  anxious  to  cook  supper,  we  ate  bread  and 
butter  and  cold  corned  beef,  and  then  spent  the  even- 
ing trying  to  dry  our  riding  skirts,  that  we  might 
be  presentable  in  Naguilian  the  next  day. 

The  Igorrotes  are  not  especially  wild  or  savage 
in  appearance,  but  one  has  a  romantic  realization 
that  he  is  under  the  Southern  Cross  in  the  Islands 
of  the  Pacific  when  he  watches  them  crouched  about 
their  fires  at  night  eating  boiled  dog  and  camotes 
(sweet  potatoes).  For  two  hours  last  night  I  sat 
on  a  log,  smoked,  scorched,  and  stiff  from  my  day's 
journey,  but  fascinated  by  their  strange  ways  and 
curious  customs.  I  carried  away  a  vivid  impression 
of  Igorrote  character.  We  went  to  bed  at  ten,  but 
the  excitement  of  the  day,  the  roar  of  the  river,  and 
the  mournful  cry  of  a  strange  bird  kept  me  from 
sleeping  soundly.  Strips  of  bamboo  with  a  thin 
blanket  over  them,  and  shoes  and  a  poncho  for  a 
pillow,  are  not  the  softest  of  couches,  but  Auria 
slept  quietly  all  night. 

3°4 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

SAN  FERNANDO,  June  16,  1902. 

IN  my  last  letter  I  gave  you  an  account  of  our  trip 
down  the  mountains  as  far  as  Sablan.  You  re- 
member our  being  overtaken  by  a  rainstorm  and 
soaked  to  the  skin  before  reaching  shelter.  It  did 
none  of  us  any  harm,  fortunately,  and  we  were  up 
before  daylight  the  next  morning  to  cook  breakfast 
and  start  in  good  season  for  San  Fernando.  The 
night  before,  Morris  had  shot  two  chickens,  left 
behind  by  the  miner  who  lived  formerly  in  the  camp. 
I  had  some  Benguet  coffee  and  cold  boiled  potatoes, 
left  from  luncheon  the  day  before.  We  fried  the 
chicken  in  bacon,  and  I  made  coffee  and  creamed 
potatoes.  It  was  a  delicious  breakfast,  and  started 
us  off  in  high  spirits.  The  morning  was  cool,  and 
we  left  Sablan  before  six  o'clock.  Oh!  that  fairy- 
like  tropical  world  of  ferns,  bamboo,  orchid,  and 
flowering  trees,  all  dripping  with  the  raindrops  of 
the  night  showers!  We  made  a  quick  trip  down, 
reaching  Naguilian  about  eleven  o'clock.  There  we 
were  met  by  the  supervisor  and  school-teacher,  who 
took  us  in  charge  and  gave  us  a  nice  lunch.  At 
three  o'clock  we  started  in  an  ambulance  for  San 
Fernando,  where  we  expected  to  take  the  steamer 
for  Dagupan,  announced  to  sail  that  evening.  The 
road  passed  through  the  same  country  we  had  trav- 
eled over  in  April.  Everything  was  green  instead 
of  brown,  and  the  river  was  wide  and  deep.  We 
splashed  through  water  almost  up  to  the  floor  of  the 

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UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

ambulance.  The  road  was  not  very  bad,  and  be- 
tween Bauang,  where  we  spent  the  night  on  the  way 
up,  and  San  Fernando,  we  ate  the  first  mangoes  of 
the  season.  They  were  delicious  after  our  diet  of 
tinned  fruit  at  Baguio.  It  makes  one  sad  to  think 
how  much  of  that  delicious  fruit  is  going  to  waste. 
On  account  of  cholera  no  one  may  sell  it  in  Manila. 
It  is  forbidden  because  the  natives  eat  it  in  such 
large  quantities  that  they  predispose  themselves  to 
cholera.  After  all,  one  cannot  but  wonder  if  the 
authorities  are  not  going  a  little  too  far  in  the  mat- 
ter of  food  supply.  The  natives  might  as  well  die 
of  cholera  as  of  hunger. 

To  return  to  our  trip  and  mangoes,  which  started 
this  discussion.  We  were  not  afraid  to  eat  fruit, 
for  there  had  been  no  cholera  in  Union  province. 
When  we  reached  San  Fernando  the  Butumi  was 
just  steaming  out  of  the  bay  for  Manila.  There 
was  no  hotel  or  boarding  house  where  we  could 
spend  the  night,  so  we  had  to  go  to  the  governor's. 
At  all  times  visiting  natives  is  a  trial,  but  this  time 
it  was  especially  so,  for  the  wife  of  our  host,  a 
delicate  little  creature  only  twenty-four  years  old, 
the  mother  of  six  children,  was  half  ill.  The  baby, 
three  months  old,  had  a  bad  cough.  Had  they  been 
willing  to  give  us  a  room  and  plain  food  it  would 
have  been  easier  for  us  and  them,  but  in  true  Fili- 
pino style  we  must  be  entertained,  so  we  were  re- 
ceived with  due  formality.  I  received  in  state  the 

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AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

various  officials  of  San  Fernando  until  six  o'clock ; 
then  we  were  served  with  cocoa  and  cakes.  Immedi- 
ately afterwards  other  guests  arrived,  and,  as  we 
did  not  dine  until  nine  o'clock,  I  was  famished  and 
exhausted.  We  had  six  kinds  of  meat,  besides 
chicken  soup,  a  fricassee,  and  fish.  The  postmaster 
and  other  public  officials  waited  on  the  table,  with 
the  servants  as  aides.  The  postmaster  is  a  relative 
of  the  governor,  and  a  fine-looking,  very  polite 
young  gentleman,  who  speaks  good  English.  There 
was  a  combination  of  deference  and  dignity  in  his 
manner  of  serving  us  with  stewed  carabao,  or  roast 
kid,  that  was  exquisite,  and  I  am  serious  in  saying 
this.  Jose  Ortega,  the  governor,  is  an  intelligent 
and  agreeable  man.  He  is  young,  and  anxious  to 
learn  our  ideas  of  government.  He  does  not  speak 
English,  but  is  studying  it. 

I  had  looked  forward  during  the  long  and  weary- 
ing dinner  to  retiring  immediately  after  it,  but  this 
plan  was  frustrated  by  the  eager  zeal  of  the  gover- 
nor and  several  guests  who  were  deeply  interested 
in  the  plans  of  our  government,  so,  tired  as  I  was, 
I  felt,  like  the  doctor's  wife,  that  my  duty  to  "  the 
cause  "  was  paramount,  so  till  long  after  midnight 
I  held  forth  on  all  conceivable  subjects  relating  to 
America  and  the  Philippines.  Finally,  when  I  did 
go  to  my  room,  I  found  two  narrow  beds  for  three 
of  us,  adjoining  a  room  occupied  by  the  governor, 
his  wife,  two  nurses,  and  five  children.  The  poor 

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UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

little  baby  coughed  and  cried  all  night,  and  the  other 
children  had  nightmare.  I  longed  for  the  bamboo 
hut  at  the  camp  of  Sablan. 

During  the  evening  the  captain  in  command  of 
the  garrison  had  sent  us  notice  that  the  government 
launch  would  probably  arrive  in  port  the  following 
morning  and  leave  San  Fernando  by  noon  for 
Manila.  While  we  were  at  breakfast,  to  our  con- 
sternation a  messenger  arrived  saying  that  the  boat 
was  waiting,  and  we  must  go  on  board  at  once.  We 
were  off  within  fifteen  minutes,  but  saw  the  launch 
steaming  out  of  the  harbor  as  we  reached  the  shore. 
We  were  both  astonished  and  annoyed.  On  inquiry, 
we  found  that  the  quartermaster  had  not  informed 
the  captain  of  the  launch  that  we  were  waiting  to 
go  to  Manila,  so  he  left  immediately  after  taking  on 
the  mail.  The  officer  tried  to  excuse  himself  by 
telling  us  that  a  small  boat  belonging  to  the  Mari- 
tima  Company  would  go  out  in  the  evening.  So 
back  we  went  to  the  governor's.  Sefiora  Ortega 
had  a  headache.  We  made  it  an  excuse  to  go  to 
our  room.  I  was  tired  out,  and  it  was  hotter  than 
I  had  ever  experienced  it  in  Manila.  The  sun  poured 
into  our  windows,  and  the  mosquitoes  buzzed  about 
our  ears.  We  were  afraid  to  drink  water,  and  there 
was  no  ice  in  town — for  civilians.  We  were  given 
a  drink  of  distilled  ice  water  at  the  quartermaster's 
later  in  the  day.  At  noon,  alas !  there  was  the  same 
array  of  plates,  and  the  mystic  number  of  seven 

308 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

courses  of  meat.  In  the  afternoon  I  could  hardly 
move,  but  there  was  no  rest  for  the  weary,  and  I 
discussed  again  our  government  and  American  in- 
stitutions with  official  guests.  Between  times  we 
went  to  the  beach  to  see  if  there  were  any  signs  of 
steamers. 

The  one  bright  spot  in  that  day  of  torture  was  a 
drive  along  the  shore  and  out  into  the  country.  The 
evening  was  cool,  and  the  sun  set  gorgeously  in  the 
China  Sea.  Then  came  the  wonderful  changes  from 
gold  to  pale  gray,  through  all  the  gamut  of  color. 
The  shore  was  fringed  with  cocoanut  groves,  under 
which  grew,  as  it  seemed,  the  soft-toned  native 
houses.  Small  brown  children  played  in  the  waves, 
and  the  erect,  lithe  figures  of  women  in  turkey-red 
skirts,  basket  on  head,  glided  in  and  out  of  the 
shadows.  Senora  Ortega  was  silent,  and  for  a  brief 
hour  I  rested.  Our  steamer  did  not  arrive,  and  after 
another  night  of  misery  I  went  down  to  the  quar- 
termaster and  told  him  he  must  get  me  to  Dagupan, 
and  I  wanted  to  leave  in  either  a  launch  or  an  ambu- 
lance that  morning.  He  asked  me  when  I  could  be 
ready,  and  I  said  "  in  half  an  hour."  In  an  hour 
we  had  said  good-by  to  our  hospitable,  but  relieved, 
friends,  and,  armed  with  letters  to  all  the  presidentes 
on  the  route,  we  started  overland  in  an  ambulance 
for  Dagupan.  Our  adventures  en  route  I'll  save  for 
another  time. 


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UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

June  18,  1902. 

WHEN  I  finished  my  last  letter  we  had  decided 
to  leave  for  Dagupan  by  ambulance,  so  we 
gathered  our  belongings — there  were  fourteen  pack- 
ages— and  after  lengthy  adieux  to  our  host,  the  gov- 
ernor of  Union,  his  amiable  little  wife  and  five  small 
children,  we  started  off  in  the  hot  sun  with  four 
good  mules,  a  decent  sort  of  a  driver,  some  lunch, 
and  a  basket  of  mangoes.  We  were  armed  with 
letters  to  every  presidente  along  the  road,  and  a 
special  recommendation  to  the  principal  citizens  of 
Santo  Tomas,  where  we  were  to  spend  the  night. 

The  possibility  of  our  reaching  Dagupan  was 
considered  dubious  by  the  military  officials,  and  I 
am  sure  the  quartermaster  expected  to  see  us  return 
to  San  Fernando  the  next  day.  I  find  that  in  the 
Philippines  dangers  are  generally  exaggerated.  We 
had  been  told  the  Benguet  trail  was  impassable  for 
women,  but  we  had  come  down  not  only  in  safety, 
but  had  enjoyed  every  moment,  so  off  we  started 
for  Dagupan  in  good  spirits.  It  is  not  the  climate 
that  is  wearing  on  the  nerves  in  the  Philippines,  but 
the  feeling  of  responsibility  for  the  people  and  the 
government.  One  can't  help  worrying  whenever  he 
sees  the  roads  need  mending  and  rivers  need  bridg- 
ing. If  the  supervisors  do  not  seem  to  understand 
their  business,  as  some  of  them  do  not,  an  Ameri- 
can feels  as  if  he  were  personally  responsible.  They 
are  building  a  new  road  from  San  Fernando  to 

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AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

Bauang,  but  the  man  who  is  doing  it  does  not  know 
his  business,  or  has  not  facilities  for  transporting 
proper  material,  for  he  is  putting  on  a  soft,  cal- 
careous stone  that  disintegrates  with  dampness,  and 
is  washed  away  every  time  it  rains.  Later  on  in 
our  journey  we  came  to  a  fine  piece  of  road  con- 
structed by  the  army;  river  gravel  was  put  on  top 
of  crushed  boulders,  making  a  firm  bed.  The  great- 
est need  of  this  country  is  transportation  facilities. 
The  little  bulls  and  cows  the  natives  use  are  weak, 
the  carabaos  are  scarce,  and  are  needed  to  cultivate 
the  fields.  If  narrow-gauge  railroads  could  be  built 
into  provinces  where  there  are  no  navigable  streams, 
it  would  develop  the  country  immensely,  and  open 
up  districts  which  now  are  totally  shut  off  from  any 
commerce  with  neighboring  provinces  and  the  coast. 
Union  is  a  rich  province,  and  a  healthy  one.  They 
raise  good  tobacco,  and  San  Fernando  is  the  head- 
quarters of  the  Tabacalera  Company.  There  are 
numberless  streams  fordable  in  the  dry  season 
which  become  raging  torrents  during  the  heavy 
rains,  carrying  off  the  bridges,  and  making  travel- 
ing- tedious  and  sometimes  unsafe.  Between  San 
Fernando  and  Dagupan  we  crossed  at  least  twenty 
streams,  many  of  them  rivers  at  this  season;  all 
excepting  three  or  four  were  too  deep  to  ford. 

Our  first  detention  was  at  Bauang,  six  miles  out 
of  San  Fernando.  As  we  were  in  a  hurry,  I  did  not 
present  my  letter  to  the  presidente,  but  we  drove 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

through  the  town  and  down  to  the  bank  of  a  wide 
stream  we  had  forded  when  we  came  through  in 
April.  I  never  would  have  recognized  it  as  the 
same  river,  it  looked  so  wide  and  so  deep.  We  saw 
no  means  of  crossing  it,  and  a  number  of  natives 
shook  their  heads  emphatically  when  we  asked  them 
by  signs  if  we  could  drive  through  it.  We  could 
not  speak  Ilocano,  and  the  natives  did  not  under- 
stand Spanish.  Our  driver  was  no  help  in  the  mat- 
ter, so  we  were  beginning  to  think  the  quartermaster 
might  be  right,  after  all,  and  we  should  be  obliged 
to  return  to  San  Fernando.  Just  then  two  mounted 
members  of  the  constabulary  rode  up.  I  thought 
of  my  card  from  the  governor  of  Union,  and  soon 
found  the  name  of  a  civil  commissioner  was  as 
potent  with  them  as  a  general's  name  with  a  pri- 
vate. They  at  once  set  about  to  get  us  a  raft.  A 
rickety  bamboo  balsa,  as  they  call  it,  was  brought 
out  from  a  bend  in  the  river,  and  with  much  pro- 
fanity from  the  driver  the  wheel  horses  were  in- 
duced to  haul  the  ambulance  on  the  raft,  which 
immediately  sank  below  the  surface  of  the  water. 
The  horses  were  then  led  off,  which  helped  matters 
a  little.  Then  our  baggage  was  taken  off,  and  the 
natives,  to  the  number  of  about  twenty,  pushed  the 
balsa  off.  The  driver  refused  to  "  trust  his  life  "  to 
the  rickety  old  balsa,  so  we  watched  our  ambulance 
float  across  the  stream  with  the  feeling  that  we  were 
lessening  our  chances  of  getting  either  to  Dagupan 

312 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

or  back  to  San  Fernando.  Imagine  our  astonish- 
ment on  finding  that,  instead  of  using  their  poles 
and  punting  the  balsa  over,  the  men  waded  through 
the  river  in  water  only  up  to  their  waists,  pushing 
the  raft  before  them.  We  were  disgusted,  especially 
the  driver,  who  did  not  know  how  to  ride  a  mule, 
and  did  not  wish  to  wet  his  feet ;  so  he  had  the  raft 
make  two  more  trips,  one  to  carry  over  the  animals 
and  another  to  take  the  baggage.  We  went  over  in 
a  small  banca,  which  passengers  use  in  crossing 
streams.  When  we  were  safe  on  the  other  side, 
and  our  luggage  packed  up  and  tne  mules  harnessed, 
we  determined  to  send  natives  across  every  river  we 
might  come  to  before  we  again  took  a  raft  to  cross 
in  three  feet  of  water. 

This  experience  cost  us  an  hour  and  a  half  of 
precious  time.  The  roads  were  bad,  and  we  forded 
the  next  two  streams,  sending  a  Filipino  before  us 
to  point  out  the  way.  There  were  numbers  of  bull 
carts  going  our  way,  too,  and  we  began  to  smile 
at  the  tales  of  the  dangerous  roads,  and  felt  some- 
what superior  at  having  insisted  on  making  the  trip. 
Although  a  good  team,  our  mules  were  not  speedy, 
and  our  driver  was  cautious  to  such  a  degree  that 
he  made  me  suspect  he  was  afraid  of  them.  How- 
ever, we  did  not  worry,  but  gave  ourselves  up  to 
enjoying  the  sights.  I  never  tire  of  watching  the 
Filipinos.  They  are  always  gay,  and  sit  in  their 
windows  watching  life  as  it  passes.  Our  appearance 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

was  an  event  in  that  life,  and  babies  were  dropped 
and  children  ran  shouting  to  see  the  big  mule  team 
and  the  Americanos.  Auria,  of  course,  attracted 
most  attention,  and  at  the  houses  where  our  driver 
stopped  to  get  a  drink  of  water,  and  we  jumped  out 
of  the  ambulance  to  stretch  our  tired  limbs,  they 
crowded  about  her,  some  of  the  bolder  ones  touch- 
ing her  dress.  One  woman  of  better  class,  at  a 
river  where  we  were  obliged  to  cross  on  a  raft, 
as  it  was  ten  feet  deep,  said  in  Spanish  that 
she  felt  like  biting  Auria's  cheeks,  they  were  so 
pretty. 

We  tried  to  make  our  driver  desist  from  water 
drinking  at  native  shacks,  and  share  our  bottles  of 
distilled  water,  but  he  said  he  was  germ  proof,  and 
took  fruit  and  native  food  with  a  recklessness  that 
made  me  fear  he  might  die  of  cholera  before  we 
reached  our  destination.  The  Filipinos  are  all  hos- 
pitable, and  the  soldiers  have  made  themselves  free 
with  native  tobacco  and  vino,  so,  when  one  demands 
anything,  he  gets  it.  As  a  rule,  I  think  the  soldiers 
pay  for  what  they  get,  but  yet,  when  they  go  up  to 
a  house,  they  order  things  in  a  lordly  way  that 
shows  they  expect  to  get  what  they  ask  for. 

So  we  drove  on  till  evening.  Our  road  was  fairly 
good,  or,  at  least,  so  much  better  than  we  had  hoped, 
that  it  seemed  good.  The  highway  lay  near  the 
sea,  and  the  breeze  was  cool — that  wonderful  Phil- 
ippine breeze  that  one  always  feels  when  he  is  driv- 


AN    OFFICIAL'S   WIFE 

ing,  even  in  the  hottest  weather.  There  was  a  re- 
freshing rain  in  the  afternoon  that  cooled  the  air, 
laid  the  dust,  and  did  not  last  long  enough  to  make 
the  roads  muddy.  Then  came  a  gorgeous  sunset 
behind  cocoanut  groves,  and  about  dusk  we  drove 
up  to  the  house  of  the  friend  of  Governor  Ortega, 
an  amigo  of  the  Americans.  He  was  the  gentleman 
who  had  prepared  our  entertainment  when  we  trav- 
eled through  the  country  in  April.  Although  our 
arrival  was  wholly  unexpected,  we  were  met  by  the 
family  with  every  expression  of  welcome,  and,  to 
my  protestations  of  regret  for  our  unannounced 
descent  upon  them,  they  replied  that  it  was  a  great 
pleasure  to  place  their  house  and  themselves  at  our 
commands.  As  to  my  letter  from  the  governor, 
they  assured  me  that  none  was  needed,  as  they  con- 
sidered themselves  honored  by  entertaining  us,  and 
our  names  were  a  passport  wherever  loyal  Filipinos 
lived.  The  house  was  still  unfurnished,  although  a 
little  further  advanced  than  when  we  passed  through 
the  town  in  April.  The  interior  partitions  had  not 
been  put  in,  and  our  beds  were  screened  off  behind 
sheets.  We  were  immediately  invited  to  bathe  our 
faces  and  hands.  Fresh  mats  were  spread  on  the 
beds,  pillows  brought,  and  we  lay  down  to  rest  after 
a  cup  of  thick  chocolate  and  small  cakes.  Our  room 
was  fragrant  with  an  odor  of  mangoes,  which  were 
ripening  by  hundreds  under  our  beds  and  in  all  the 
corners.  It  was  in  this  house  that  the  doctor's  wife 
21  315 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

had  boiled  water,  and  washed  knives  and  plates  for 
fear  of  the  cholera,  as  we  went  up  to  the  moun- 
tains. 

After  an  hour's  rest,  I  dressed,  knowing  that  our 
hosts  were  anxiously  awaiting  news  and  the  oppor- 
tunity of  conversation.  There  they  were,  the  mother 
smiling,  but  unable  to  speak  any  but  her  native  Ilo- 
cano,  a  son  and  daughter  both  speaking  a  few  Eng- 
lish words,  and  proudly  exhibiting  a  Ladies'  Home 
Journal  and  Leslie's  Weekly.  The  father  in  black, 
mourning  the  recent  death  of  a  son,  had  just  re- 
turned from  an  .interview  with  the  presidente  and 
fiscal.  These  three  gentlemen  were  somewhat  doubt- 
ful as  to  the  possibility  of  getting  through  to  Dagu- 
pan.  News  had  been  brought  that  all  the  bridges 
were  gone,  and  the  rivers  too  deep  to  be  forded; 
that  the  rafts  for  summer  travel  were  not  yet  built, 
and  that  the  mud  was  over  the  wagon  hubs  in  places. 
They  advised  us  to  wait  in  their  town,  and  send  a 
messenger  on  horseback  to  Dagupan  for  a  launch. 
This  meant  three  days'  delay,  and  Santo  Tomas  was 
not  more  attractive  than  San  Fernando,  so  that  af- 
ter much  questioning  I  found  that  they  did  not  think 
there  was  any  danger  of  losing  our  lives,  so  I  said, 
if  they  were  agreed,  we  would  make  the  trial.  Then 
the  fiscal  and  the  presidente,  and  Don  Severino,  our 
host,  became  as  enthusiastic  over  plans  for  our  jour- 
ney as  before  they  had  been  discouraging.  They 
sent  messengers  to  call  out  the  natives  to  build  rafts 

316 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

and  mend  roads,  announcing  their  determination  to 
accompany  us  on  our  journey. 

By  this  time  it  was  half-past  nine,  and  Auria  had 
despairingly  announced  her  belief  several  times  that 
we  were  not  going  to  have  any  supper.  I  was  just 
about  to  come  to  the  same  conclusion  when  the 
mother  asked  us  to  share  their  poor  dinner,  and  we 
went  to  the  lower  end  of  the  house,  where  places 
for  six  were  laid.  Our  host  and  his  friends  sat  in 
chairs  near  us,  while  our  party  was  accompanied  to 
the  table  by  the  hostess,  her  son,  and  daughter.  The 
dinner  was  good,  and  we  were  waited  on  by  two 
servants,  but  our  host  seemed  to  feel  that  their  man- 
ner of  serving  was  not  quite  as  it  should  be,  so  he 
soon  came  to  the  table  and  waited  on  us  himself.  I 
have  never  met  a  Filipino  whose  face  was  more  in- 
dicative of  kindness  and  sincerity  than  Don  Sev- 
erino's.  He  was  a  pure  Ilocano,  and  mentioned  the 
fact  with  pride.  After  we  had  eaten  the  various 
courses  of  meat,  omelet,  ham,  and  carabao-milk 
custard,  our  host,  who  had  watched  Auria's  small 
appetite  with  some  anxiety,  suddenly  bethought  him- 
self of  something  that  would  surely  tempt  her,  a 
duke  Americano,  or  sweetmeat.  I  confess  my  inter- 
est was  aroused,  and  you  may  imagine  our  amuse- 
ment when  a  tin  of  canned  corn  was  passed  with 
powdered  sugar.  I  was  able  to  recover  in  time  to 
help  myself  liberally.  Auria,  alas!  did  not  respond 
to  our  host's  expectations,  and  left  her  duke  uneaten. 

317 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

They  told  us  that  it  was  much  liked  by  them  all. 
After  we  had  finished,  the  men  sat  down,  and  we 
discussed  politics;  and,  finally,  at  twelve  o'clock  I 
went  to  bed,  knowing  we  must  eat  breakfast  by 
candlelight  and  be  on  our  way  by  six.  As  usual, 
after  a  long  evening  of  conversation  in  which  the 
aims  and  purposes  of  our  government,  and  the  man- 
ners and  customs  of  our  people  are  set  forth  at 
length,  I  am  so  excited  that  I  cannot  sleep,  so  I 
tossed  all  night  on  my  hard  bed,  and  morning  came 
too  soon. 

In  the  morning,  after  a  cup  of  coffee  and  eggs, 
we  started  off,  our  friends  accompanying  us  on 
horseback.  In  spite  of  the  early  hour,  the  village 
band  serenaded  us,  and  the  town  turned  out  to  say 
good-by.  Where  the  people  came  from  is  hard  to 
tell,  for  Santo  Tomas  was  destroyed  by  the  fleeing 
insurgents,  and  not  one  house  was  left  unburned, 
and  no  one  would  believe  twenty  persons  could  be 
gathered  together.  That  day  we  saw  demonstrated 
the  power  of  presidentes,  and  the  weight  of  a  rich 
man's  name.  During  the  night  a  raft  had  been  built 
to  carry  us  across  a  wide  and  deep  river  near  Santo 
Tomas,  and  a  hundred  hombres  at  least  were  gath- 
ered to  help  us  across.  Our  day  was  eventful,  and 
the  roughness  of  the  road  had  not  been  exaggerated. 
The  mud  was  deep,  and  the  mules  could  not  go 
faster  than  a  walk.  Getting  up  and  down  the  river 
banks  was  one  of  the  difficult  parts  of  the  trip,  for 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

they  were  muddy  steep  cuts.  In  one  place,  where 
a  mud  stream  was  oozing  across  the  road,  our  mules 
went  in  with  a  plunge,  and  we  suddenly  were  trans- 
fixed with  terror,  for  the  most  heartrending  squeals 
pierced  the  air,  and  a  muddy  ball  rolled  about  in  its 
death  agony  as  our  driver,  startled,  too,  lashed  his 
frightened  mules,  and  we  bumped  out  of  the  hole 
and  sped  away,  leaving  an  entire  village  in  con- 
sternation. I  thought  we  ought  to  return  and  pay 
for  the  little  porker,  but  the  look  of  disgust  mingled 
with  pity  on  the  face  of  our  driver  silenced  me. 
Our  attendant  cavaliers  had  gone  on  ahead  to  ar- 
range for  our  next  crossing.  It  was  a  tiresome  trip. 
We  were  constantly  packing  and  unpacking  the  am- 
bulance, and  the  crossing  was  tedious,  for  the  balsa 
could  not  carry  ambulance  and  mules,  but  always 
had  to  make  four  trips.  The  natives  were  all  inter- 
ested and  anxious  to  help,  and  watched  us  carefully 
lest  we  should  get  wet.  Several  times  we  went 
down  to  the  seashore,  where  the  tide  and  river  met 
and  crossed  on  the  shallow  bar,  but  the  water  came 
into  the  bottbm  of  the  ambulance,  and  if  the  sea 
had  not  been  perfectly  calm  we  could  not  have 
crossed.  In  fact,  without  our  guides  we  could  never 
have  made  the  trip.  We  reached  Dagupan  late  that 
afternoon.  What  is  a  four  hours'  trip  in  good 
weather  had  taken  us  ten.  We  learned  later  that 
everything  had  been  in  our  favor,  or  we  might  have 
had  serious  accidents,  for  a  troop  of  cavalry,  making 

319 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

practically  the  same  trip  farther  inland,  lost  five 
men  by  drowning.  Had  I  to  make  the  trip  again, 
I  would  use  a  carromata,  or  native  pony,  for  the 
rafts  are  too  small  to  carry  an  ambulance  in  safety, 
and  are  only  intended  to  transport  the  bull  carts  and 
small  native  vehicles. 

Having  reached  Dagupan  we  were  put  up  by  our 
friends  of  the  army,  and  left  by  train  for  Manila  the 
next  day.  I  am  glad  we  made  the  trip,  for  it  showed 
what  the  country  is  like  in  the  rainy  season. 


AN    OFFICIAL'S  -WIFE 


X 

AN    OUTING   IN  BATANGAS 

November  n,  1903. 

T  WAS  invited  last  week  to  go  down  to  Batangas 
*~  for  a  visit.  I  left  our  house  at  eight  o'clock 
Sunday  morning,  expecting  the  transport  Ingalls  to 
sail  at  half-past  eight,  but,  after  all  our  hurry,  we 
did  not  get  away  until  noon.  The  rough  weather 
in  the  bay  had  prevented  coaling  Saturday,  and  so 
we  were  delayed.  It  was  hot  waiting,  and  the 
smoke  from  the  coaling  cascos  made  the  deck  ex- 
tremely unpleasant.  We  had  a  smooth  and  remark- 
ably quick  trip,  reaching  Batangas  at  seven  o'clock 
in  the  evening.  It  was,  of  course,  quite  dark  when 
we  landed,  but  the  moon  gave  sufficient  light  to 
show  that  there  had  been  a  number  of  buildings  put 
up  on  the  shore  since  we  were  here  last.  When  we 
were  in  Batangas  two  years  ago  there  were  no  fa- 
cilities for  landing,  or  any  houses  on  the  shore. 
Since  then  a  convenient  little  wharf  has  been  built 
for  the  quartermaster's  boats.  We  were  taken  on 
shore  in  the  general's  launch.  The  native  rowers 
were  rigged  out  in  sailor  suits,  with  ties  and  sashes, 

321 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

an  innovation  of  the  new  quartermaster.  The  army 
has  built  a  camarine,  or  warehouse,  for  storing 
goods  near  the  wharf,  and  there  were  other  signs  of 
life.  General  Bell's  cottages  stand  back  from  the 
road,  and  are  surrounded  by  fine  lawns.  They 
looked  very  cozy  and  inviting,  with  wide-open  win- 
dows and  brightly  lighted  rooms.  There  are  three 
houses,  almost  like  suburban  cottages  at  home,  in 
the  inclosure.  In  one  of  these  Mrs.  Taft  and  I  were 
installed.  You  may  see  how  changed  the  situation 
is  when  you  remember  that  a  year  and  a  half  ago 
escorts  were  provided  to  conduct  us  from  the  beach 
to  the  town,  and  that  the  insurgents  were  firing  on 
its  outskirts  during  the  evening  of  our  arrival.  Last 
night  we  slept  alone  in  the  house  with  doors  and 
windows  wide  open,  and  a  native  policeman  pa- 
trolled the  road,  passing  the  house  once  an  hour. 
Next  morning  we  went  to  see  the  new  agricultural 
station,  and  were  surprised  to  find  how  much  had 
been  accomplished.  We  brought  back  some  rad- 
ishes and  lettuce.  The  latter  was  good,  but  the 
radishes  were  very  sharp.  Okra  was  growing,  and 
the  pods  were  very  large  and  tender.  Alfalfa  seems 
to  flourish  in  this  soil.  It  is  thought  that  seeds 
sown  later,  say  in  December,  would  grow  better. 
General  Bell  has  imported  a  number  of  American 
plows  and  cultivators. 

We  met  the  presidente,  an  ex-insurrecto,  who  is 
now  most  friendly  to  the  Americans.     We  went  to 

322 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

the  famous  reconcentrado  camp,  a  beautiful  piece  of 
ground.  Some  of  the  nipa  shacks  are  still  standing. 
The  natives  who  were  confined  there  were  so  well 
satisfied  that,  when  the  time  came  to  break  up  the 
camp,  the  general  could  not  get  them  to  move  until 
he  turned  them  out  by  force. 

November  12,  1902. 

TO-DAY  we  are  resting,  for  we  are  worn  out 
after  a  long  trip  we  took  yesterday  to  Taal  and 
the  volcano.  We  started  from  the  house  at  six 
o'clock,  an  hour  later  than  we  had  intended,  and 
were  then  delayed  by  sleepy  lieutenants,  who  kept 
us  waiting  for  them  half  an  hour  longer.  Finally, 
the  men  were  gathered  in,  and  the  Dorety  and  two 
ambulances  started  about  half-past  six  on  the  long 
drive  to  the  lake  of  Taal.  The  first  stage  of  our 
journey  was  through  a  delightful  country.  The 
freshness  of  the  night  was  still  in  the  air,  and  the 
trees  and  bushes  were  glistening  with  dew.  The 
distance  between  Batangas  and  the  town  of  Taal  is 
about  eighteen  miles,  and  there  is  an  almost  con- 
tinuous row  of  nipa  shacks  between  the  two  places. 
In  all  parts  of  the  Islands  the  ravages  of  war  in  the 
country  are  soon  repaired.  The  nipa  shacks  were 
almost  all  new,  and  the  villages  really  looked  more 
prosperous  than  before  the  war.  It  is  in  the  towns 
that  one  realizes  the  ruin  and  destruction  the  war 
has  caused.  The  first  story  of  the  better-class  dwell- 

323 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

ings  is  built  of  stone,  and  the  second  of  wood. 
There  is  but  one  town  of  importance  between  Batan- 
gas  and  Taal ;  this  is  Bauang.  All  the  rest  of  the 
way  we  drove  between  hedges  of  hibiscus  in  full 
bloom,  growing  together  in  rows  with  a  beautiful 
red-leaved  plant  cut  and  pruned  like  evergreen 
hedges.  The  people  were  all  leaning  out  of  their 
windows,  smiling  and  waving  their  hands  at  us.  At 
one  place  where  we  stopped  to  rest  the  mules  we 
were  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  women  and  babies, 
who  seemingly  regarded  us  with  great  friendliness. 
Either  the  general  has  succeeded  in  pacifying  these 
people,  or  they  are  magnificent  actors,  but  I  know 
the  spontaneous  grins  that  greeted  us  from  every 
window  could  not  have  been  assumed. 

Everywhere  in  the  Islands  the  middle-aged  and 
old  women  are  ill-favored  and  ugly,  but  the  young 
girls  and  the  children  are  attractive  and  often  pretty. 
The  people  we  saw  yesterday  were  the  ugliest 
natives  I  have  ever  seen.  The  road  for  about  ten 
miles  was  fairly  good,  but  after  that  it  was  full  of 
holes  and  mud.  I  sat  on  the  front  seat  with  the 
driver,  an  American  citizen  named  Manning,  who 
was  born  in  Seattle.  His  mother  was  a  Japanese, 
and  his  father  an  American.  It  did  not  make  a  bad 
combination.  Manning's  face  was  intelligent  and 
attractive.  He  managed  his  four  splendid  mules 
with  skill,  and  guided  us  carefully  over  bad  places 
in  the  road  with  great  dexterity.  About  ten  o'clock 

324 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

we  came  in  sight  of  Taal.  At  a  turn  in  the  road 
we  suddenly  saw  the  bluest  sea  you  can  imagine, 
and  looked  down  on  the  white  walls  and  red-tiled 
roofs  of  picturesque  houses  shining  against  the  sky 
and  sea.  It  reminded  me  of  Sicily.  There  were 
the  tall  palms  and  cocoanut  trees  of  the  tropics,  but 
the  general  effect  was  Italian.  Taal  was  once  a 
town  of  much  importance  and  wealth,  and  it  was 
also  celebrated  for  the  culture  of  its  inhabitants. 
The  city  had  been  terraced,  and  we  saw  the  ruined 
remains  of  many  handsome  dwelling  houses.  A 
number  that  had  escaped  being  burned  were  in  good 
repair,  and  were  more  pretentious  architecturally 
than  any  others  I  have  seen  in  the  Islands.  They 
had  Gothic  windows  and  handsomely  carved  arch- 
ways and  facades. 

The  church  of  San  Martin  is,  however,  the  chief 
glory  of  Taal.  It  is  an  immense  fortresslike  pile, 
larger  than  the  Manila  Cathedral,  and  far  more  im- 
posing. Its  facade  is  grim  and  gloomy,  built  of  a 
dark-brown  stone  in  several  stories.  The  interior  is 
plain,  with  barrel-arched  nave  and  vaulted  aisles. 
The  pilasters  of  the  nave  are  ornamented  with 
Corinthian  capitals,  but  in  the  aisles  the  pillars  are 
surmounted  by  a  plain  stone  cap.  The  walls  are 
decorated  in  gray  fresco,  and  the  effect  is  cold.  The 
situation  of  the  church  is  fine.  It  stands  on  high 
ground,  and  dominates  the  town.  Taal  must  have 
been  one  of  the  finest  cities  of  the  Philippines.  Even 

325 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

in  its  dilapidated,  ruined  state  it  made  an  impression 
of  having  been  built  on  a  beautiful  site  with  taste 
and  even  magnificence.  We  only  stopped  long 
enough  to  see  the  church,  and  then  started  for  the 
lake.  It  is  a  four-mile  drive  from  Taal  to  the  lake, 
through  a  shady  lane  along  a  road  so  bad  it  was 
almost  impossible  to  pull  the  ambulance  through  the 
mud.  It  was  dangerous  in  some  places,  and  once, 
going  down  a  steep  hill,  the  mules  in  the  rear  ambu- 
lance nearly  ran  into  us.  Finally,  we  reached  the 
lake,  and  saw  the  famous  volcano  rising  from  what 
seemed  its  farther  shore ;  for,  although  the  volcano 
is  on  an  island,  from  the  spot  where  we  first  saw  it, 
it  seemed  part  of  the  mainland. 

I  was  disappointed,  for  I  had  imagined  the  vol- 
cano rising  from  the  middle  of  the  lake  like  a  pyra- 
mid. Instead  it  was  low  and  long,  but  that  it  was 
a  real  volcano  no  one  could  for  a  moment  doubt. 
Although  the  shore  line  was  green,  it  rose  pale  gray, 
almost  pink,  from  the  trees  and  shrubs  at  its  base. 
Its  sides  were  deeply  scored  as  if  plowed  in  furrows, 
and  the  crater  rim  was  cut  and  jagged.  From  the 
mainland  it  seemed  to  lie  about  a  mile  away,  but  it 
took  us  an  hour  in  a  swift  little  launch  to  reach  the 
island.  We  began  the  ascent  at  half-past  eleven 
o'clock.  We  were  in  the  tropics  under  the  deadly 
rays  of  the  vertical  sun  at  noon,  starting  to  climb  a 
steep  mountain,  and  yet  I  have  taken  a  hotter  and 
more  tiresome  walk  in  California  many  a  time.  At 

326 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

first  we  forced  our  way  through  thick  underbrush, 
tall  grass,  and  a  prickly  thorny  growth.  Two  na- 
tives with  bolos  went  before  us  to  cut  the  path,  but 
we  had  to  push  the  undergrowth  through  and 
scramble  over  stones.  The  natives  lost  their  way 
several  times,  and  we  were  obliged  to  retrace  our 
steps.  It  was  not  pleasant  and  the  way  seemed  long, 
but  at  the  end  of  about  half  an  hour  we  came  out  of 
the  bushes  on  to  the  direct  trail  up  the  moun- 
tain. Once  out  of  the  undergrowth  it  was  cooler. 
The  walking  was  good  till  we  neared  the  top, 
for  the  trail  climbed  up  a  bed  of  cinders  glued 
together  with  lava.  The  last  fifteen  minutes  of 
the  trip  was  steep,  and  we  sank  over  our  shoes  in 
ashes,  but  finally  we  gained  the  top.  I  almost  lost 
my  breath  as  I  came  out  on  the  rim  of  the  crater 
and  beheld  the  width  and  depth  of  the  great  sunken 
space. 

Then  there  happened  a  wonderful  thing  just  as  if 
it  had  been  prepared  especially  for  us.  As  the  last 
member  of  our  party  struggled  up  to  the  rim  of  the 
crater  we  heard  a  deep  thundering  sound,  and  then 
slowly  and  majestically  there  arose  from  the  bottom 
of  the  crater  an  immense  fountain  of  white  mud 
which  pressed  up  and  up  and  then  shot  out  column 
after  column  of  great  black  cinders,  while  we  all 
gazed  in  horror-stricken  fascination  at  what  seemed 
an  eruption  that  would  never  end.  Crowning  the 
fountain  of  mud  was  a  cloud  of  white  sulphurous 

327 


UNOFFICIAL    LETTERS    OF 

steam  which  floated  off  high  above  our  heads.  We 
were  all  stunned  to  silence  at  the  magnificent  dis- 
play, too  amazed  to  be  frightened,  although  General 
Bell  confesses  now  that  he  began  seriously  to  calcu- 
late our  chances  of  escape.  As  we  were  beginning 
to  feel  the  tension  of  the  situation  the  great  fountain 
slowly  and  majestically  subsided.  General  Bell 
thinks  it  did  not  last  a  minute.  It  seemed  as  if  it 
were  hours.  After  the  eruption  we  stayed  some 
time  at  the  top  of  the  crater.  Our  muchachos  went 
down  to  the  bottom.  It  was  so  far  below  us  we 
could  scarcely  follow  them  with  our  eyes.  It  took 
them  over  an  hour  to  return.  The  crater  is  said  to 
be  the  size  of  the  walled  city  of  Manila :  it  looked 
larger.  There  are  three  lakes  at  the  bottom  filled 
with  a  white  liquid  which  sends  up  steam  clouds  con- 
tinually. The  crater  floor  is  not  flat ;  it  contains  val- 
leys and  a  small  hill,  cliffs  and  abysses.  The  walls 
are  perpendicular  on  two  sides  and  about  three  hun- 
dred feet  high.  The  two  other  sides  are  sloping  and 
covered  with  ashes  and  cinders.  The  crater  is  two 
or  three  times  as  long  as  it  is  wide.  We  waited  a 
long  time,  hoping  to  see  another  eruption  of  steam 
and  mud,  but  finally  hunger  and  the  hot  sun  drove 
us  down  to  the  lake. 

It  was  quite  as  fatiguing  going  down  as  it  was 
going  up,  for  the  sun  was  hotter.  Finally,  the  launch 
was  reached  and  we  soon  had  our  luncheon  spread 
out  on  the  deck.  The  lake  reflected  the  hot  sun  and 

328 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

the  shores  seemed  to  swim  in  the  heat  haze,  but 
there  was  a  little  breeze  and  we  ate  and  drank  the 
good  things  provided  with  immense  appetites. 
There  was  a  jolly  company  of  young  lieutenants  and 
a  captain,  whose  rank  made  him  a  little  more  sub- 
dued, so  lunch,  company,  and  good  appetites  com- 
bined with  a  smooth  sail  made  our  trip  back  a  pleas- 
ant one.  The  scenery  of  the  lake  is  fine.  The 
shores  are  not  high,  but  there  is  one  beautiful  moun- 
tain rising  from  them  in  perpendicular  majesty.  It 
looked  much  higher  than  it  really  is,  and  was  cov- 
ered with  trees  and  foliage  of  all  kinds.  Our  drive 
back  to  Taal  was  less  alarming  to  the  timid,  as  we 
knew  the  road  and  had  confidence  in  our  mules.  We 
took  the  general's  launch  at  Taal  and  went  back  to 
Batangas  by  water.  Taal,  as  I  saw  it  from  the 
launch,  rising  in  terraces  above  the  shore  line,  with 
its  white-walled  houses  smothered  in  palms  and  co- 
coanut  and  crowned  by  its  dark  fortresslike  cathe- 
dral, is  a  most  picturesque  town.  It  was  moonlight 
during  the  trip  back  and  a  fresh  breeze  sprang  up. 
We  passed  beautiful  little  islands  and  a  sheltered 
nook  of  a  harbor  off  Mindoro.  The  music  of  a  good 
Filipino  quartet  added  a  finishing  touch  to  a  de- 
lightful day. 

You  have  heard  the  sensational  rumors  of  the 
"  harrying  of  Batangas,"  the  reconcentrado  camps, 
and  the  "  Weyler-like  methods  of  General  Bell." 
The  more  I  see  of  the  general  and  the  more  I  see 

329 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

of  the  natives  the  more  I  am  convinced  that  he  un- 
derstands how  to  manage  them.  The  great  question 
now  is  how  to  get  the  people  back  to  work.  They 
have  become  so  accustomed  to  loafing  that  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  get  them  to  do  anything.  Ba- 
tangas  was  the  garden  spot  of  Luzon.  It  was  cov- 
ered with  fine  haciendas  of  sugar,  coffee,  tobacco, 
and  rice.  Now  it  is  a  jungle.  We  did  not  see  a 
man  working  between  Batangas  and  Taal,  nor  a  cul- 
tivated field.  The  common  people  were  not  poor 
before  the  war,  they  all  had  saved  money  and  buried 
it.  For  three  years  they  have  been  living  on  what 
the  soil  produces  spontaneously  and  their  savings. 
Now  they  are  destitute,  but  they  do  not  want  to 
work.  In  towns  where  soldiers  have  been  quartered, 
almost  the  entire  population  depends  on  the  money 
spent  by  the  government  and  soldiers.  The  town  of 
Batangas  is  so  prosperous  it  is  difficult  to  get  a 
muchacho,  or  a  man  to  do  any  kind  of  work.  Small 
saloons  and  places  for  selling  beer  and  sweets  are 
seen  everywhere,  and  it  certainly  does  not  argue 
well  for  the  future  of  this  country  that  we  are  teach- 
ing these  natives  the  use  of  whisky.  The  present 
prosperity  comes  from  the  presence  of  the  military, 
and  it  is  a  prosperity  that  will  decline  as  soon  as  the 
garrison  is  removed.  One  of  the  many  reasons  why 
towns  where  soldiers  are  being  withdrawn  have 
petitioned  that  they  may  remain,  is  the  fact  that  the 
money  spent  by  the  soldiers  and  civilian  employees 

330 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

supports  the  population.   This  is  something  they  like 
better  than  tilling  the  fields. 

The  Batangas  church  is  a  picturesque  building 
with  an  unusually  well-proportioned  dome.  The 
town  is  large,  but  otherwise  the  buildings  are  insig- 
nificant. There  are  apparently  no  fine  residences. 
The  governor,  Senor  Luz,  is  a  very  interesting  man. 
He  is  almost  totally  deaf,  which  perhaps  accounts 
for  his  pathetic  expression.  In  spite  of  his  deafness 
he  has  learned  to  read  and  write  English  and  French 
remarkably  well.  He  writes  what  he  wishes  to  say 
with  astonishing  rapidity  and  ease,  expressing  him- 
self with  perfect  clearness,  although  not  always  idio- 
matically. His  wife  is  a  native  of  Lipa,  a  town  the 
Filipinos  used  to  call  the  "  Paris  of  the  Orient." 
She  finds  Batangas  very  triste.  There  are  few,  if 
any,  really  cultivated  families  here,  and  no  society 
life  among  the  natives.  She  mourns  for  Lipa,  and 
the  fine  residence  the  governor  owns  in  that  town. 
They  live  in  a  poor  house  in  Batangas,  as  they  can- 
not afford  a  better  one. 

November  14,  1902. 

T7ESTERDAY   we   took    another   long   trip   to 

-*•    Macolod,  a  high  mountain  overlooking  the  lake 

of  Taal  and  the  volcano.     We  made  an  early  start 

again  in  ambulance  and  the  Dorety  wagon.    It  was 

practically  the  same  party  with  the  addition  of  a 

tall,  dark,  rather  handsome  captain,  a  bit  older  and 

22 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

more  sophisticated  than  the  lieutenants.  Horses  and 
two  pack  mules  had  been  sent  the  day  before  to 
Cuenca,  a  town  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain.  We 
drove  over  the  Taal  Batangas  road  as  far  as 
Bauang;  there  we  turned  off  into  a  charming  culti- 
vated country.  The  natives  were  apparently  not  as 
lazy  as  they  were  along  the  Batangas  road.  Men 
were  plowing  with  little  humpback  bulls.  There 
were  well-cultivated  fields  of  corn  and  sugar,  and 
plantations  of  cocoa  and  coffee.  The  houses  looked 
better  kept,  and  were  surrounded  by  gardens.  All 
of  the  population  were  not  hanging  out  of  the  win- 
dows. Little  round-eyed  children,  either  totally 
naked  or  clad  in  a  short  shirt  of  thin  stuff,  came 
peering  out  from  hibiscus  hedges  and  then  darted 
back,  half  smiling  and  half  afraid.  It  was  market 
day,  and  the  road  was  full  of  women  on  foot  or 
seated  on  little  ponies  between  two  great  baskets  of 
garden  produce  or  heaps  of  green  grass.  Strings  of 
ponies  laden  with  immense  round  baskets  filled  with 
red  clay  jars  crowded  close  into  the  hedges  as  we 
went  swinging  along.  There  were  scores  of  old 
women  and  young  girls  with  baskets  of  various 
sizes  and  shapes  on  their  heads.  Their  red  and  blue 
skirts  were  stiff  and  well  ironed,  and  their  camisa 
and  handkerchiefs  white  as  snow.  Young  girls  led 
small  cows  and  one  looked  as  alarmed  as  the  other 
at  our  immense  mules  and  big,  lumbering  ambu- 
lances. One  young  dude,  sitting  by  the  roadside 

332 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

caressing  his  fighting  cock,  wore  a  pair  of  Prussian 
blue  velvet  slippers  and  a  big  double  hibiscus  over 
his  ear.  We  saw  women  spinning  thread  on  the 
square,  uncovered  veranda  which  is  a  characteristic 
feature  of  the  houses  in  this  region.  Through  the 
windows  we  saw  old  women  at  looms,  and  several 
front  yards  were  gay  with  long  pieces  of  freshly 
dyed  pink  and  red  cloth  drying  on  stretchers. 

Every  moment  there  was  something  new  to  de- 
light the  eye.  Our  road  ascended  about  five  hun- 
dred feet  between  Batangas  and  Cuenca,  and  we 
were  surprised  to  find  what  a  difference  there  was 
in  the  climate  of  the  two  places.  Cuenca  at  ten 
o'clock  with  the  sun  shining  was  cool  and  breezy. 
We  found  our  horses  saddled  and  waiting,  the 
mules  ready  to  be  loaded  with  the  luncheon  and  a 
dozen  young  soldiers  prepared  for  a  picnic.  It  was 
my  second  attempt  to  ride  an  American  horse,  and 
I  know  an  elephant  could  not  seem  higher  than  the 
big  cavalry  horse  assigned  to  me.  I  thought  I  could 
never  get  up  my  courage  to  mount  the  first  day,  but 
yesterday  I  did  not  mind  so  much  and  I  had  a  better 
horse.  We  "  hiked  "  up  hills,  through  tall  grass, 
down  deep  ravines,  over  gullies,  and  yet  I  am  here 
to  tell  the  tale,  and  am  ready  to  do  it  all  over  again 
to-morrow.  General  Bell  always  avoids  a  trail  that 
he  has  once  been  over  and  strikes  off  at  right  angles 
whenever  he  comes  to  a  well-beaten  path,  so  I  know 
we  did  not  take  easy  trails  yesterday.  In  fact,  the 

333 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

laugh  was  on  him,  for  he  was  the  only  one  who  had 
to  dismount  at  a  bad  place,  where  his  horse  fell  and 
could  not  get  up.  My  horse  gave  me  cold  chills  of 
terror,  for  he  had  a  way  of  going  uphill  like  a  grass- 
hopper. When  we  reached  our  destination  on  the 
mountain  the  breeze  was  cool  and  the  view  glorious. 
We  could  look  down  into  the  crater  of  the  Taal  vol- 
cano and  see  the  Laguna  de  Bay  off  to  the  north, 
where  Manila  lay.  The  day  was  perfect,  and  the 
volcano,  the  little  islands,  and  the  nearer  shore  were 
reflected  in  the  surface  of  the  lake.  The  light  was 
not  too  glaring  and  we  found  a  delightful  place  for 
luncheon  where  there  was  shade,  a  good  view,  and 
a  breeze.  When  one  looks  at  the  mountains  of  the 
Philippines  and  sees  bare  rocks  or  green  slopes  they 
always  seem  uninhabited,  but  let  him  climb  the  hills 
or  mountains  and  natives  spring  up,  as  it  were,  out 
of  the  ground.  We  had  not  seen  a  human  being  on 
our  way  up  Macolod,  but  scarcely  were  we  seated 
on  the  ground  when  half  a  dozen  women  and  small 
girls  and  babies,  boys  and  men  appeared  smiling  and 
bowing.  They  stood  at  a  respectful  distance,  eyes 
and  mouths  wide  open  during  the  three  or  more 
hours  of  our  stay.  They  live  in  nipa  huts  and  raise 
corn  and  tobacco  on  the  mountainsides,  and  an 
American  woman  is  a  strange  sight.  On  our  way 
back  we  took  another  trail  to  Cuenca,  then  a  fast 
trot  of  thirteen  miles  to  Batangas  with  a  gorgeous 
sunset  in  the  west  and  the  blue  mountains  of  Min- 

334 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

doro  in  front  of  us.  It  was,  if  anything,  a  finer  trip 
than  the  one  to  Taal,  with  the  exception  of  the  vol- 
cano and  the  eruption. 

BATANGAS,  November  15,  1902. 

'XT'ESTERDAY  We  had  a  novel  experience,  a  trip 
JL  down  the  river  on  a  carabao  raft.  I  am  sure 
it  is  only  in  the  Philippine  Islands  that  one  can  do 
that,  and  even  here  not  many  people  enjoy  it.  We 
went  up  the  river  on  horseback  to  a  point  about  four 
miles  above  Batangas,  where  the  government  rice  is 
brought  on  rafts  for  distribution  into  the  interior. 
We  had  a  delightful  cool  ride  through  a  long,  shady 
lane.  Once  we  met  a  carabao,  a  small  boy,  and  a 
ridiculous  looking  little  calf.  The  small  boy  fled, 
but  the  carabao  stood  her  ground  and,  remembering 
the  tale  of  a  whole  company  of  infantry  being  routed 
by  one  of  these  animals,  we  wisely  halted  till  the 
irate  mother  decided  to  retreat.  These  immense 
creatures  with  their  enormous  horns  are  always  for- 
midable. 

The  raft  on  which  we  went  down  the  river  was 
made  of  bamboo  poles  lashed  together,  covered  with 
mats.  An  awning  of  green  boughs  was  decorated 
with  flowers  in  Filipino  style.  The  carabao  does  not 
pull  the  raft  from  the  shore  but  is  yoked  on  in  front 
and  wades  or  swims  in  the  river,  pulling  the  load 
behind.  A  small  boy  stood  on  the  front  of  the  raft, 
a  knotted  cord  in  his  hand,  one  end  of  which  was 

335 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

passed  through  the  ring  in  the  carabao's  nose. 
Sometimes  the  water  was  so  shallow  we  could  see  all 
but  the  legs  of  the  bulky  beast,  then  again  he  would 
sink  into  deep  water  and  only  his  waving  horns  and 
the  tip  of  his  nose  were  visible.  When  swimming, 
carabaos  move  their  heads  with  their  great  horns 
from  side  to  side  and  make  a  snuffling  noise.  The 
Batangas  river  runs  through  a  narrow  gorge  with 
bamboo-covered  banks  which  for  the  most  part  are 
quite  steep.  We  floated  down  for  an  hour  by  day- 
light. Then  the  full  moon  gave  us  light,  and  the  red 
glow  of  a  brilliant  sunset  made  that  peculiar  combi- 
nation of  moon  and  sunlight  so  difficult  for  a  painter 
to  reproduce.  Before  dark  we  saw  some  pretty 
scenes  at  the  fords :  a  girl  in  a  blue  skirt  carrying 
a  red  water  jar  on  her  head,  a  train  of  carabao  rafts 
loaded  with  government  rice,  and  the  water  carriers, 
whose  unique  method  of  taking  water  from  the 
river  and  springs  is  worth  noting.  All  along  the 
road  one  meets  men  and  boys  carrying  long  thick 
poles  of  bamboo  tied  together  at  the  bottom  like  the 
letter  A  reversed  (v),  the  apex  down,  and  the  cross 
bar  on  their  backs.  These  are  filled  with  water  and 
hold  from  two  to  four  buckets.  The  men  place 
them  against  the  walls  and  hedges  when  they  wish 
to  rest,  and  it  certainly  is  an  ingenious  way  to  carry 
water  if  a  somewhat  tiresome  one. 

The  day  ended  with  a  ball  given  in  our  honor  by 
the  city  officials.     We  received  beautifully  written 

336 


invitations  to  a  "  modest "  reception,  but  knew,  of 
course,  that  the  "  baile  "  would  be  the  best  the  town 
could  afford.  The  city  hall  was  elaborately  deco- 
rated on  our  arrival  and  the  main  room  was  filled 
with  guests.  There  were  all  classes,  including  in- 
fants and  maids ;  the  latter  crouched  on  the  floor  be- 
hind the  chairs  of  their  mistresses.  There  were 
small  girls  in  big  European  hats,  and  others  in 
beaver-tail  skirts  looking  like  miniature  old  women. 
We  made  our  grand  entry  on  the  arms  of  "  high 
officials,"  and  all  the  notables  were  presented  to  us. 
This  "  baile  "  was  much  more  amusing  than  many 
at  which  I  have  assisted,  for  they  prepared  a  pro- 
gramme and  it  was  very  well  done.  First  came  a 
song  of  welcome,  written  by  some  budding  poet,  in 
which  the  refrain  "  Bien  venida  a  Mrs.  Taft  "  was 
given  in  old-fashioned  oratorio  style.  An  oration 
celebrating  the  Civil  Commission  was  delivered  in 
eloquent  Spanish.  Then  came  an  inevitable  rigodon 
danced  by  the  officials  and  ourselves,  and  after  that 
•  native  and  Spanish  dances  and  zarzualas  alternating 
with  twosteps  and  waltzes. 

To-day  we  start  for  Lipa,  where  we  spend  the 
night  and  where  another  ball  is  being  prepared  for 
us.  It  is  said  the  ladies  of  Lipa  will  wear  their  cele- 
brated diamonds  on  this  occasion. 


337 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

Saturday,  November  15,  1902. 

ON  Friday  night  we  decided  that  we  must  start 
for  Manila  the  following  day.  General  Bell 
arranged  to  go  with  us,  and,  hearing  that  the  town 
of  Lipa  proposed  to  give  us  a  "  baile,"  we  thought 
it  would  be  interesting  to  accept  the  invitation  and 
stay  overnight  in  that  town. 

Ever  since  coming  to  the  Philippines  we  have 
heard  of  the  splendors  of  Lipa.  Formerly  the  in- 
habitants were  rich  and  lived  in  great  style.  Society 
was  very  gay,  and  the  diamonds  of  the  ladies  of 
Lipa  were  celebrated  throughout  the  Archipelago. 
The  source  of  all  this  wealth  was  coffee.  About  ten 
years  ago  a  pest  killed  the  plants,  and  since  that 
time  the  splendor  of  Lipa  has  gradually  decayed. 
During  the  insurrection  Lipa  was  one  of  the  towns 
that  gave  most  trouble  to  the  Americans.  The  in- 
habitants aided  and  encouraged  their  people  in  every 
way,  and  General  Bell  was  obliged  to  shut  up  a  large 
number  of  citizens  and  keep  many  more  under  strict 
surveillance.  This  made  the  people  of  Lipa  bitter 
against  the  army.  The  Americans  gave  a  ball  after 
the  pacification  of  Batangas  when  General  Wheaton 
and  General  Chaffee  went  through  Lipa,  but  none  of 
the  ladies  of  Lipa's  four  hundred  was  present,  so 
General  Bell  was  curious  to  see  who  would  attend 
our  ball. 

It  was  arranged  to  leave  Batangas  about  three 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  and  drive  in  the  Dorety 

338 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

wagon  to  San  Jose,  ten  miles  distant,  and  from  there 
to  ride  horseback  the  rest  of  the  way.  Mrs.  Taft, 
the  general's  aide,  and  I  were  to  ride.  The  general 
and  the  governor,  who  was  escorting  us  through  his 
province,  preferred  to  drive.  The  good-bys  to  Mrs. 
Bell  and  Batangas  were  said  with  much  regret.  We 
had  enjoyed  our  visit  and  were  sorry  it  was  over. 
The  Dorety  ride  was  not  pleasant,  although  the  road 
was  pretty  good,  and  all  but  the  last  four  miles  was 
smooth  and  well  macadamized.  The  four  miles, 
however,  were  full  of  holes,  and  we  could  not  go 
faster  than  a  walk.  The  roads  in  the  Islands  are 
difficult  to  keep  in  order,  for  they  are  worn  into  deep 
ruts  by  carts,  the  wheels  of  which  revolve  with  their 
axles  and  grind  into  the  macadam.  The  stone  is  not 
of  the  best  quality,  and  it  is  soon  crushed  into  pow- 
der. Then  come  the  tropical  rains  and  wash  it 
away.  The  first  cost  is  considerable  when  one  must 
use  the  so-called  cheap  labor.  In  some  parts  of  the 
Islands  every  mile  costs  five  thousand  pesos.  The 
men  are  paid  at  the  rate  of  twenty-five  cents,  gold, 
a  day,  but  they  are  lazy  and  inefficient. 

We  found  our  horses  ready  at  San  Jose,  and  I 
mounted  a  beautiful  bay  horse  called  Bob,  and  we 
started  on  the  Lipa  train  in  gay  spirits.  We  went 
through  canons  and  over  hills.  We  had  to  push 
our  way  through  bushes  and  trees,  and  Mrs.  Taft 
lost  her  hat  twice,  and  I  was  nearly  strangled  by  a 
big  rope  of  tough  green  vine.  Now  and  again  the 

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UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

path  widened  out  and  we  could  trot  or  canter.  Fi- 
nally, Lipa  came  in  sight  and  at  first  we  were  much 
disappointed,  for  it  looked  mean  and  dilapidated. 
Pigs  ran  about  the  weed-grown  streets,  washing 
hung  on  broken-down  garden  walls. 

We  turned  a  corner  into  a  narrow  street  and 
stopped  at  the  gate  of  a  large  house,  the  headquar- 
ters of  the  garrison  in  Lipa.  The  tales  of  the  fine 
houses  were  true,  for  we  entered  a  marble-flagged 
piazza  and  found  ourselves  in  a  hall  with  quite  a 
palatial  staircase.  Two  wooden  knights  in  armor, 
somewhat  the  worse  for  wear,  stood  in  the  corners 
and  a  bronze  chandelier  hung  from  the  ceiling.  All 
the  rooms  were  large  and  well  furnished.  Being 
left  to  ourselves  a  short  time,  we  made  the  most  of 
our  freedom. 

As  soon  as  we  had  taken  off  our  riding  habits  we 
started  out  alone  to  see  the  town.  As  we  were  walk- 
ing along,  looking  at  the  houses,  a  young  Filipino 
saw  us  and  stepped  up,  saying  in  very  good  English : 
"  Madams,  may  I  assist  you  ?  "  We  told  him  we 
were  looking  about  the  town  and  wished  to  see  the 
church  and  some  of  the  fine  houses,  so  he  joined  us 
and  we  found  him  an  excellent  guide.  The  church 
has  a  fine  marble  floor  and  is  large  but  not  beautiful. 
The  houses  interested  me  more.  They  almost  all 
have  gardens  and  back  yards.  They  are  not  built 
with  the  stables  underneath,  although  the  entrance  to 
one  of  the  finest  houses  was  through  the  barnyard. 

340 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

They  are  built  in  many  cases  three  stories  high,  in- 
cluding an  entresol.  We  went  to  see  a  famous  gar- 
den and  to  get  a  view  from  the  tower  of  a  handsome 
house.  There  we  found  an  agreeable  lady  and  her 
very  pretty  daughter.  The  garden  was  in  Italian 
style,  quaint  and  stately.  From  the  tower  we  had 
a  glorious  view  of  the  town,  the  mountains,  a  sun- 
set, and  a  rising  moon.  While  we  were  enjoying  the 
view  a  servant  announced  that  the  presidente,  conse- 
jales,  and  principales  were  waiting  for  us  in  the 
sala ;  so  we  went  downstairs  and  found  six  or  seven 
solemn  gentlemen  who  shook  hands  and  through 
their  interpreter,  whose  English  was  convulsing, 
"  welcomed  us  hearty  "  to  Lipa  and  invited  us  to 
the  ball.  They  then  shook  hands  a  second  time  and 
expressed  their  desire  to  escort  us  to  the  officers' 
quarters,  where  we  were  staying.  So  we  started  in 
procession  and  solemnly  paraded  the  streets  to  the 
headquarters,  where  we  shook  hands  for  the  third 
time  and  exchanged  the  proper  compliments. 

When  we  were  dressed  and  ready  for  our  dinner 
another  delegation  of  about  twenty  young  girls 
waited  on  us  to  pay  their  respects  and  welcome  us  to 
Lipa.  They  were  like  a  flock  of  tropical  birds,  as 
they  fluttered  about.  The  invitation  to  the  ball  was 
recited  in  verse  by  one  of  the  girls.  We  dined  at  the 
officers'  mess,  and  at  half-past  eight  went  to  the 
"  baile."  The  house  was  large  and  handsomely  fur- 
nished and  the  elite  of  Lipa  was  there  in  brilliant 

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UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

blue,  pink,  and  green  gowns,  but  alas !  the  celebrated 
diamonds  and  pearls  were  not  in  evidence.  There 
were  many  more  girls  than  men,  and  only  a  few  of 
the  company  danced.  There  was  one  youth,  the  cen- 
ter of  attraction.  He  wore  an  evening  suit  with  a 
buttonhole  bouquet.  He  parted  his  hair  in  the  mid- 
dle, thrust  into  his  vest  was  a  pair  of  yellow  kid 
gloves,  and  in  his  eye  a  monocle.  This  was  not  so 
extraordinary  as  his  manners.  "  Ah !  madams,  good 
evening  to  you,  how  admirable  are  your  appear- 
ances," was  his  greeting  as  he  struck  an  attitude  in 
front  of  us,  hand  on  hip  with  one  foot  pointed  out- 
ward. He  posed  all  the  time,  sometimes  gazing 
fiercely  into  space  with  arms  folded,  or  listening 
with  eyes  turned  to  heaven  during  a  sentimental 
song.  The  little  mestizas  in  blue  and  pink  giggled 
and  fairly  collapsed  with  nervous  joy  when  he 
placed  his  eyeglass  in  his  eye  and  planted  himself  in 
front  of  them.  We  danced  the  rigodon  twice;  the 
second  time  a  new  figure  was  introduced  called 
the  paseo,  in  which  each  lady  promenaded  around 
the  room  with  all  the  men  in  turn  as  partners.  The 
general's  aide  was  the  only  American  dancing,  and 
there  were  at  least  fifteen  Filipino  youths  who 
seemed  deaf  and  dumb,  but  "  Cholly,"  the  dude,  re- 
marked :  "  Here  we  are  again,  madam,  it  is  a  most 
comfortable  occasion,"  and  another  youth  said  in  a 
painfully  labored  tone :  "  Here-in-Filipinas-we-spik- 
much-English."  The  supper  was  very  good,  and  we 

342 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

all  sat  down  to  eat  it  in  the  big  dining  room.  Gen- 
eral Bell  was  in  his  element.  They  were  all  there, 
his  ancient  enemies  for  the  women  of  Lipa  were 
more  incorrigible  insurrectos  than  the  men.  He 
danced  with  the  girls  and  enticed  the  old  ladies  into 
taking  a  turn ;  he  talked  and  he  joked,  and  his  aide, 
poor  boy,  following  the  general's  lead,  whirled  the 
girls  of  Lipa  about  like  a  steam  engine.  At  twelve 
o'clock  we  were  worn  out  and  persuaded  our  hos- 
tesses that  we  must  go,  in  view  of  our  early  morning 
departure.  But  the  general,  after  escorting  us  to  our 
quarters,  took  his  aide  back  to  the  ball  and  I  believe 
he  did  more  "  pacifying  "  that  night  than  he  had  ac- 
complished during  his  entire  campaign. 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 


XI 

CHARACTERISTICS    OF   THE   FILIPINOS 

MANILA,  December  15,  1902. 

YOU  have  often  asked  me  to  write  you  in  detail 
my  impressions  of  the  Filipinos.  I  have  de- 
layed doing  this,  as  I  have  felt  my  opinions  were 
necessarily  immature.  Now,  however,  before  leav- 
ing the  Islands  I  will  try  to  sum  up  as  well  as  I  can 
the  results  of  my  observations.  But  even  after  a 
residence  of  two  and  a  half  years  this  is  a  difficult 
task,  for  almost  every  statement  one  can  make  con- 
cerning the  Filipinos  must  be  qualified,  and  what  is 
true  of  one  tribe  is  not  true  of  another.  There  is  far 
more  difference  between  the  Igorrote  of  Benguet 
and  the  Tagalog  of  Manila  than  between  the  latter 
and  ourselves. 

There  are  in  Luzon  many  different  tribes,  and  it 
is  surprising  to  take  a  map  and  see  how  small  a  part 
of  the  island  belongs  to  the  so-called  civilized  inhabi- 
tants. North  of  Manila,  along  the  coast,  there  is  a 
narrow  strip  of  country  containing  large  towns; 
some  few  are  important,  as,  for  example,  San  Fer- 
nando and  Vigan,  and  there  are  several  lesser 

344 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

pueblos,  but  back  of  these  and  north  of  the  lower 
part  of  the  island  is  a  great  section  absolutely  un- 
touched, except  here  and  there  by  civilization.  This 
is  the  region  occupied  by  the  Igorrotes  and  kindred 
tribes.  There  are  vast  mountain  ranges  and  im- 
mense forests  where  no  civilized  man  lives  and  about 
which  we  know  comparatively  little.  In  one  of 
these  provinces  the  famous  head  hunters  live,  but 
the  accounts  of  them  are  vague  and  unreliable.  The 
Igorrotes  of  Benguet  are  among  the  semibarbarous 
non-Christian  tribes.  The  Igorrotes  are  not  as  stu- 
pid as  the  Negritos,  another  barbarous  tribe,  and 
they  live  in  houses,  while  many  of  the  Negritos  live 
in  trees,  and  look  almost  like  animals.  Add  to  these 
and  other  barbarous  tribes  the  Moro  population,  and 
one  can  see  how  complicated  is  the  question  of  gov- 
ernment here.  To  meet  an  educated  Filipino  and 
hear  him  talk  one  naturally  thinks  the  Filipinos  are 
ready  for  self-government,  forgetting  that  among 
the  population  of  seven  millions  there  is  a  mere 
handful  who  can  be  compared  with  him. 

Of  course  when  one  talks  about  Filipinos  he 
means,  as  a  rule,  the  Tagalogs,  and  often  his  state- 
ments are  true  only  of  the  inhabitants  of  Manila.  It 
is  almost  inevitable  that  this  should  be  so,  for  few 
have  an  opportunity  to  study  closely  the  people  of 
all  the  provinces  of  Luzon  or  the  inhabitants  of  other 
islands.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  Tagalogs  are, 
to  use  the  common  expression,  smart.  They  memo- 

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UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS   OF 

rize  quickly  and  learn  certain  things  readily  and 
they  are  imitative.  A  number  have  very  good  abil- 
ity, but  the  majority  are  half  educated,  and  if  we 
see  the  dangers  of  half  education  in  our  own  coun- 
try, how  much  greater  is  the  danger  here. 

In  the  lower  classes  and  the  higher  there  are  traits 
that  make  the  strenuous  New  Englander  or  even 
the  more  easy-going  Californian  impatient,  and  at 
times  inclined  to  say :  "  It's  no  use ;  one  can  never 
teach  them  anything,"  but  the  fact  still  remains  that 
unless  one  has  a  race  prejudice  the  Filipino  is  thor- 
oughly likable. 

Naturally  the  servant  class  is  the  one  with  which 
we  come  in  closest  contact,  and  we  get  the  poorest 
specimens  here  in  Manila ;  but  they  are  not  less  effi- 
cient than  are  our  untrained  servants  at  home.  They 
polish  the  center  of  the  floor  and  leave  the  corners 
untouched.  The  dust  accumulates  behind  books, 
and  the  spider  spins  his  web  unmolested  on  the  chan- 
delier ;  but  when  his  attention  is  called  to  these  mat- 
ters the  Filipino  smiles  as  if  he  thought  it  a  joke  and 
cheerfully  performs  the  neglected  duty,  and  as 
promptly  forgets  it  next  day.  They  are  not  crea- 
tures of  routine,  nor  are  they  thorough  in  the  work 
they  have  to  do,  but  they  are  neither  sulky  nor  saucy. 
They  go  quietly  about  the  house  with  bare  feet,  and 
although  they  break  dishes  one  never  hears  them 
slamming  doors  or  rattling  china  as  an  indication  of 
ill  temper.  I  am  now  speaking  of  the  servants  the 

346 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

Americans  hire,  who  are  not  in  the  least  the  typical 
Filipino  servants.  A  Filipina  of  my  acquaintance 
spoke  of  a  certain  coachman  as  one  of  those  imper- 
tinent fellows  who  had  been  spoiled  by  Americans; 
she  would  have  none  of  that  kind. 

From  my  friends  here  I  learn  that  much  of  the 
patriarchal  system  of  living  still  prevails  even  in 
Manila.  In  some  large  houses  there  are  from 
twenty  to  thirty  dependents  of  all  degrees  from  poor 
relations  to  cooks  and  scullions.  These  persons  live 
about  the  house  sleeping  in  corners,  clothed  and  fed 
by  the  mistress.  They  marry,  have  children,  and 
raise  them  in  a  harum-scarum  way  that  would  drive 
a  New  England  woman  to  an  insane  asylum.  Again 
and  again  I  have  seen  in  the  finest  houses  small 
naked  children  asleep  behind  the  parlor  door,  while 
large-eyed  placid  women  nursed  babes  quite  un- 
abashed as  they  crouched  on  the  floor  in  the  hall- 
ways. These  servants  have  their  home,  their  clothes, 
food,  and  from  three  to  five  pesos  a  month.  In  a 
way,  I  suppose,  they  earn  this  money  as  they  non- 
chalantly polish  the  hardwood  floors  or  carelessly 
flap  the  dust  from  the  centers  of  tables  and  chairs. 
They  sit  on  the  floor  in  kitchens  in  front  of  a  pan 
of  water  and  wash  the  dishes  that  are  piled  up 
around  them,  and  stack  them  edgeways  along  the 
wall  to  dry.  Surely  their  ways  are  not  ours,  and  it 
is  a  shock  to  see  a  kitchen  in  the  heat  of  preparation 
for  a  dinner  of  which  one  is  to  partake  later.  It  re- 
23  347 


UNOFFICIAL  -LETTERS    OF 

quires  some  skill  to  pass  between  the  various  dishes 
being  prepared  on  the  floor,  where  cats  and  dogs 
and  babies,  meats,  fruits,  and  vegetables  seem  hope- 
lessly jumbled  together.  One  forgets  about  it  later 
when  a  good  dinner  comes  forth  from  the  chaos. 
Many  of  these  servants  have  lived  all  their  lives  in 
one  family.  They  feel  themselves  dependent  on 
their  masters  and  the  idea  of  their  going  away  or 
being  dismissed  never  occurs  to  either  master  or 
servant.  There  is,  consequently,,  a  family  feeling 
between  them  and  a  freedom  of  intercourse  that  we, 
democrats  though  we  are,  would  not  tolerate.  A 
friend  told  me  his  head  servant  always  remonstrates 
with  him  when  he  disapproves  of  any  course  of  ac- 
tion, and  sometimes  I  have  witnessed  an  altercation 
between  a  mistress  and  a  maid  when  the  maid  pre- 
vailed. At  one  house,  I  remember,  there  was  a  dif- 
ference of  opinion  at  dinner  as  to  the  kind  of  wine 
to  be  served,  and  the  servant  had  his  way ;  yet  they 
are  not  considered  impertinent  by  their  masters, 
who  say  we  spoil  our  servants. 

In  the  upper  classes  there  is  the  attraction  of 
placid  nature  enlivened  by  a  gayety  that  is  almost 
universal.  Sometimes  I  look  with  envy  at  the  un- 
troubled faces  of  my  friends,  at  their  calm  eyes  and 
smooth,  unwrinkled  foreheads.  One  evening  I  went 
to  a  Filipino  ball  given  on  Washington's  Birthday, 
where  a  great  many  Americans  were  present.  Even 
while  dancing  our  women  had  a  certain  strained 

348 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

fixed  look,  in  contrast  to  the  contented  nerveless 
faces  of  the  Filipina  girls. 

No  matter  how  friendly  our  intercourse  with  the 
Filipinos,  there  is  always  the  restraint  natural  to  our 
peculiar  relations  with  them  and  the  difference  of 
language.  I  find  them  reluctant  to  let  me  know  just 
what  they  think  on  a  subject,  say  of  political  in- 
terest. This  is  natural,  for  they  never  seem  to  for- 
get the  fear  of  compromising  themselves  that  three 
hundred  years  of  Spanish  rule  have  impressed  upon 
them.  Yet  even  on  questions  of  no  significance  they 
like  you  to  express  an  opinion  for  them  to  agree 
with.  If  one  can  get  really  intimate  with  them,  as 
I  did  with  some  well-educated  girls,  they  will  now 
and  then  forget  the  ingrained  secretiveness  of  their 
race  and  give  you  a  glimpse  of  opinions  that  are  per- 
haps all  the  stronger  for  being  suppressed.  I  re- 
member one  hot  afternoon  taking  a  siesta  on  a  big 
Filipino  bed,  with  three  or  four  placid-looking 
plump  girls  lying  on  mats  on  the  floor.  We  had 
exhausted  the  characteristics  of  the  other  guests  in 
the  house,  and  our  conversation  turned  on  the  insur- 
rection. Perhaps  because  they  liked  me,  and  possi- 
bly because  they  trusted  me,  they  gave  me  the  his- 
tory of  their  experiences  during  the  early  days  of  the 
uprising  when  their  family  was  with  the  insurgents. 
They  talked  as  our  own  great-grandmothers  might 
have  talked,  when  they  were  girls,  about  the  War  of 
the  Revolution.  At  the  time  of  our  conversation 

349 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

there  was  trouble  in  Batangas  and  our  troops  were 
carrying  out  a  somewhat  severe  policy.  It  was  easy 
to  see  where  the  girls'  sympathies  lay,  and  yet  they 
were  not  in  favor  of  the  war.  They  were  intelligent 
and  knew  it  meant  ruin  to  them  and  their  family 
if  the  Americans  abandoned  the  Islands;  they 
wished  the  Filipinos  to  stop  fighting,  yet,  while  they 
were  fighting,  blood  would  tell,  and  they  wanted  the 
insurrectos  to  win. 

This  is,  I  think,  the  key  to  the  situation,  and  the 
reason  we  have  for  hope  that  now  peace  is  estab- 
lished it  will  be  lasting.  While  their  people  were 
actually  in  the  field,  human  nature  triumphed  over 
any  theory,  and  even  the  loyal  Filipino  men  and 
women  sympathized  with  and  often  aided  their 
friends  and  brethren.  Now  that  all  is  peaceful  and 
their  feelings  are  not  aroused  by  tales  of  suffering 
and  war,  there  seems  no  reason  to  fear  another  out- 
break. If  one  wishes  to  see  eyes  flash  and  cheeks 
burn,  he  has  only  to  introduce  the  subject  of  the 
friars.  This  is  especially  the  case  in  the  provinces. 
It  is  a  natural  hatred  which  these  people  bear  to  the 
Spanish  friar,  brought  about  by  centuries  of  tyranny 
and  oppression  that  makes  the  blood  boil  when  one 
listens  to  stories  told  by  those  who  have  experi- 
enced it. 

The  Filipino  women  have  great  business  ability, 
and  much  of  the  buying  and  selling  is  done  by  them. 
This  trading  instinct  must  be  racial,  for  it  has  not 

350 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

been  eradicated  by  Spanish  dominion  or  by  the  tend- 
ency of  a  subject  race  to  imitate  its  superior.  In 
many  of  the  richest  families  of  Manila  there  is  a 
business  of  some  kind  carried  on  by  the  women  of 
the  family.  They  sell  jusi,  pina,  perfumes,  or  even 
tobacco  and  imported  goods.  Often  where  the  hus- 
band is  a  professional  man  the  wife  will  add  consid- 
erably to  the  income  by  a  business  she  conducts 
independently.  The  whole  people  is  quite  un-Span- 
ish  in  this  trait,  for  I  have  often  been  told  by  intel- 
ligent Filipinos  that  they  have  no  leisure  class.  We 
are  accustomed  to  speak  of  the  Filipinos  as  lazy  and 
endowed  with  an  ingrained  dislike  for  work  of  any 
kind,  but  the  fact  remains  that  I  do  not  know  a  sin- 
gle family  or  a  prominent  man  here  who  has  not  a 
profession  or  who  is  not  engaged  in  business  of 
some  kind.  Trade  carries  no  stigma  as  it  does  in 
Europe,  or  even  in  our  own  country  for  that  matter, 
and  you  may  meet  the  woman  who  has  sold  you 
jusi  in  the  morning  at  a  ball  in  the  evening.  Of 
course  there  are  some  exclusive  Spanish  sets,  for 
Manila  is  full  of  cliques,  but  I  have  never  heard  so- 
cial standing  explained  on  the  ground  of  wealth  or 
leisure.  One  must,  of  course,  not  understand  by 
this  manual  labor,  for  which  a  Filipino  has  great 
scorn. 

The  Filipinos  are  extravagantly  fond  of  dancing. 
They  will  sometimes  dance  from  two  in  the  after- 
noon until  four  the  next  morning.  A  Filipino  told 

351 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

me  that  in  the  old  days  parties  often  went  to  spend 
a  fiesta  week  in  the  country  and  danced  all  the  week. 
In  every  small  town  or  village  there  is  a  band,  and 
the  natives  play  very  well.  The  Filipino's  singing 
voice  is  seldom  sweet,  and  so  far  I  have  not  seen 
anyone  who  could  be  called  an  actor.  On  the  other 
hand,  there  are  several  poets  and  composers  of  mu- 
sic, and  a  number  of  painters.  Operettas  in  Tagalog 
have  been  produced.  There  is  a  good  orchestra  in 
Manila,  called  the  Rizal  Orchestra,  that  plays  classi- 
cal music.  Filipino  society  has  not  yet  settled  down 
to  its  normal  condition  in  the  Islands,  and  life  is  not 
as  gay,  they  tell  me,  as  it  was  before  the  wars. 

The  Filipinos  do  not  find  us  a  very  lively  people. 
Our  habit  of  leaving  a  ball  at  twelve  or  even  before 
surprises  them.  All  the  social  functions  begin  late ; 
the  theaters  seldom  before  nine,  as  no  one  dines 
before  eight. 

The  dinners  of  the  better  class  are  elaborate  and 
even  elegant.  A  complimentary  dinner  should,  they 
think,  not  be  given  to  less  than  twenty  or  thirty 
guests.  I  have  sat  down  in  a  private  house  to  a 
dinner  of  forty  covers.  Although  their  entertaining 
is  lavish,  the  Filipinos  live  rather  simply  every  day, 
and  in  the  provinces,  even  among  the  rich,  rice 
forms  the  larger  part  of  their  daily  diet,  to  which 
fish  is  added,  or  a  little  meat. 

Many  of  the  girls  are  notable  cooks  and  take  as 
much  pride  in  their  baking  as  our  own  housekeepers. 

352 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

Each  little  town  seems  to  be  noted  for  its  own 
special  delicacy,  and  we  have  often  been  regaled 
with  cakes  from  Pampanga  or  Bataan,  and  I  remem- 
ber a  tin  of  most  delicious  brittle  cookies  sent  from 
that  ill-famed  island  of  Samar. 

As  to  their  treachery  and  cruelty  I  cannot,  of 
course,  speak  from  experience,  but  I  know  that  fair- 
minded  American  officers  have  told  me  again  and 
again  that  when  once  you  convince  a  Filipino  that 
the  American  means  what  he  says  and  is  trying  to 
help  him,  he  is  as  loyal  as  our  own  people.  The 
Filipinos  are  not  harsh  with  their  children,  in  fact 
they  are  too  lenient.  Of  course,  they  love  a  cock- 
fight, and  carry  pigs  upside  down  tied  by  the  feet 
to  a  pole;  they  beat  balky  horses  and  jerk  carabaos 
around  by  a  ring  in  the  nose.  Some  insurrectos 
have  mutilated  the  dead,  and  some  are  reported  to 
have  tortured  prisoners.  Yet,  at  this  time,  when 
there  is  so  much  excitement  over  the  court  martials 
of  army  officers  and  retaliation  is  the  plea  in  many 
cases,  there  are  so  few  authentic  cases  where  Ameri- 
cans have  been  victims  of  inhuman  practices  that  it 
is  quite  significant.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are 
many  American  soldiers  who  have  been  treated  well 
and  released  when  taken  prisoner.  On  the  whole, 
including  all  the  races  but  the  Moros,  I  am  sure  they 
can  be  classed  as  naturally  timid  and  peace  loving. 
They  are,  nevertheless,  easily  imposed  on,  and  when 
led  by  men  of  strong  will  are  often  aroused  to  deeds 

353 


UNOFFICIAL   LETTERS    OF 

they  would  not  ordinarily  commit.  The  Filipinos 
are  accused  of  being  naturally  untruthful,  and  this 
may  possibly  be  so,  but  it  is  a  habit  engendered  by 
centuries  of  intercourse  with  a  people  who  governed 
them  with  selfish  aims.  They  have  become  accus- 
tomed to  answer  questions  or  make  statements  as 
they  think  will  best  please  their  superiors.  If  once 
a  Filipino  understands  that  you  really  want  to  know 
the  fact,  and  he  is  not  afraid  of  compromising  him- 
self, he  will  tell  the  truth.  Children  in  the  schools 
when  asked  why  they  have  told  an  untruth  about 
some  trivial  matter,  have  answered  that  they  did  not 
wish  to  be  impolite. 

I  believe  time  will  show  favorable  results  of  the 
government's  work  here,  provided  Congress  con- 
tinues the  policy  begun  by  President  McKinley.  One 
of  the  unfortunate  features  of  the  situation  is  the 
lack  of  confidence  on  the  part  of  the  Filipinos  in  the 
stability  of  the  present  regime.  When  visiting,  anti- 
imperialists  express  their  sympathy  with  "  the  he- 
roic defenders  of  independence  " ;  when  American 
newspapers  announce  that  negotiations  are  in  prog- 
ress to  sell  the  Islands  to  Japan;  when  enlightened 
Americanistos  believe  that  a  democratic  President 
would  immediately  order  every  soldier  from  the 
Philippines  and  restore  the  Islands  to  the  Insur- 
gents; and  when  the  recommendation  of  Governor 
Taft,  who  knows  the  needs  of  the  Filipinos  quite  as 
well  as  congressional  delegates  who  have  spent 

354 


AN    OFFICIAL'S    WIFE 

three  weeks  in  the  Archipelago,  are  turned  down  or 
so  modified  as  to  lose  their  effectiveness;  it  is  not 
surprising  that  even  the  loyal  Filipinos  feel  a  certain 
suspicion  of  our  sincerity,  and  hesitate  to  accept 
with  enthusiasm  the  policy  of  the  American  Govern- 
ment. It  is  also  difficult  to  make  the  Filipinos  be- 
lieve in  our  theory  of  political  equality,  when  so 
many  Americans  are  disposed  to  emphasize  by  their 
conduct  the  idea  of  social  inequality.  In  spite  of  all 
these  drawbacks,  opposition  to  the  Americans  is  cer- 
tainly decreasing.  There  may,  perhaps,  never  be  a 
warm  personal  feeling  for  us  as  a  people,  for  we  are 
of  a  different  race.  But  gradually  the  memory  of 
the  wars  will  fade  away;  the  arrogance  of  victory 
and  the  sense  of  humiliation  engendered  by  defeat 
will  be  forgotten.  The  moral  and  material  advan- 
tages of  the  Union  will,  in  the  course  of  time,  be- 
come clearer  to  both  parties,  and  there  is  every 
reason  to  expect  they  will  live  in  peace  and  profit 
by  their  friendly  cooperation. 

(i) 

THE    END 


A  MOTOR-BOAT  STORY. 


Across  Europe  in  a  Motor-Boat. 

By  HENRY  C.  ROWLAND,  author  of  "  In  the 
Shadow,"  etc.  Illustrated  by  upward  of  fifty 
sketches.  121110.  Decorated  cloth,  gilt  top,  $2.00  net. 

This  is  a  delightful  narrative  of  an  absolutely 
unique  trip.  Mr.  Rowland  and  his  two  friends  had 
a  motor-boat  constructed  in  London  for  a  seven- 
thousand-mile  inland  voyage  which  should  circle 
Europe  by  way  of  the  Seine,  the  Rhine,  the  Danube, 
and  the  Black  Sea.  The  struggles  with  the  motor, 
which  develops  a  degree  of  perversity  almost  human, 
the  innumerable  humorous  and  exciting  incidents, 
and  the  final  terrific  adventure  which  ends  the  narra- 
tive with  a  shipwreck  in  the  Black  Sea,  make  it  the 
most  novel  and  entertaining  book  of  travel  of  recent 
years.  The  talented  author  is  well  known  through 
half  a  dozen  books  and  many  magazine  stories.  The 
style  of  the  volume  is  very  attractive.  Some  fifty 
sketches  are  sprinkled  through  the  text. 

D.    APPLETON     AND    COMPANY,     NEW    YORK. 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  PORFIRIO  DIAZ. 

By  RAFAEL  DE  ZAYAS  ENRfQUEZ.  i2mo.  Orna- 
mental cloth,  $1.50  net;  postage  additional. 

Mr.  de  Zayas  Enriquez  is  a  member  of  the  Mexican 
Senate  and  has  known  President  Diaz  for  a  great  many 
years.  This  biography  differs  from  other  biographies  of 
Diaz  in  that  it  not  only  tells  the  story  of  the  Mexican  Presi- 
dent's life,  but  sketches  the  history  of  Mexico  for  the  last 
seventy-five  years  and  tells  in  a  very  sane  manner  what 
good  and  bad  influences  are  likely  to  result  from  the  extra- 
ordinary dictatorship  of  Diaz.  The  early  part  of  the  book 
presents  a  physical  and  moral  portrait  of  Diaz,  his  parent- 
age, character,  soldierly  qualities,  his  friends,  and  the 
episodes  of  his  early  life.  Then  follow  the  development 
of  his  character  as  a  hero  and  military  man  through  the 
war  with  the  United  States,  Diaz  leaving  the  priesthood 
to  become  a  soldier.  Afterwards  comes  the  war  against 
Maximilian  and  the  part  which  Diaz  played  in  that  struggle. 
Finally,  the  biography  deals  with  Diaz  as  President ;  the 
work  that  he  has  done;  his  despotic  rule;  the  unquestioned 
good  which  has  come  to  Mexico  because  of  it,  and  also  the 
unquestioned  injury  of  such  a  rule.  The  volume  closes 
with  a  philosophical  consideration  as  to  whether  in  the  end 
Mexico  will  benefit  or  not  from  Diaz's  Presidency. 

D.    APPLETON    AND    COMPANY,    NEW    YORK. 


THE  LEADING  NOVEL  OF  TODAY. 


The  Fighting  Chance. 

By  ROBERT  W.  CHAMBERS.  Illustrated  by  A.  Bt 
Wenzell.  I2mo.  Ornamental  Cloth,  $1.50. 

In  "The  Fighting  Chance"  Mr.  Chambers  has  taken 
for  his  hero,  a  young  fellow  who  has  inherited  with  his 
wealth  a  craving  for  liquor.  The  heroine  has  inherited  a 
certain  rebelliousness  and  dangerous  caprice.  The  two, 
meeting  on  the  brink  of  ruin,  fight  out  their  battles,  two 
weaknesses  joined  with  love  to  make  a  strength.  It  is  re- 
freshing to  find  a  story  about  the  rich  in  which  all  the 
women  are  not  sawdust  at  heart,  nor  all  the  men  satyrs. 
The  rich  have  their  longings,  their  ideals,  their  regrets, 
as  well  as  the  poor ;  they  have  their  struggles  and  inherited 
evils  to  combat.  It  is  a  big  subject,  painted  with  a  big 
brush  and  a  big  heart. 

"  After  '  The  House  of  Mirth '  a  New  York  society  novel 
has  to  be  very  good  not  to  suffer  fearfully  by  comparison. 
'  The  Fighting  Chance '  is  very  good  and  it  does  not 
suffer." — Cleveland  Plain  Dealer. 

"There  is  no  more  adorable  person  in  recent  fiction 
than  Sylvia  Landis." — New  York  Evening  Sun. 

"  Drawn  with  a  master  hand." — Toledo  Blade. 

"An  absorbing  tale  which  claims  the  reader's  interest 
to  the  end." — Detroit  Free  Press. 

"  Mr.  Chambers  has  written  many  brilliant  stories,  but 
this  is  his  masterpiece." — Pittsburg  Chronicle  Telegraph. 

D.    APPLETON    AND    COMPANY,    NEW    YORK. 


BY  THE  AUTHOR  OF  "THE  SECOND  GENERATION." 

Light  Fingered  Gentry. 

A  Novel  by  DAVID  GRAHAM  PHILLIPS. 
Illustrated.  lamo.  Cloth,  $1.50. 

You  will  hunt  long  and  far  before  you  find  a  redder- 
blooded  novel  than  this.  It  is  the  latest  by  the  gifted 
author  of  "  The  Second  Generation."  The  hero  is  a  real 
man — a  man's  man — and  that  is  the  truest  type  of  woman's 
man.  He  is  a  hard  fighter,  and  he  has  a  hard  fight  to  save 
himself  from  disaster,  from  disgrace,  and  from  losing  Her. 
But  she  was  worth  the  fight. 

The  Baltimore  News  says  :  "  An  author  never  is  more 
satisfying  than  when  his  latest  book  is  his  best — and  this 
may  be  said  sincerely  of  '  Light  Fingered  Gentry.'  The  two 
important  characters  are  unique — a  divorced  pair  who  meet 
later,  after  the  woman  has  developed  magnificently;  and 
the  romance  which  ensues  gives  the  book  a  luminous  side." 

"  David  Graham  Phillips  is  the  master  American  novel- 
ist of  to-day." — Senator  Albert  J.  Bcveridgc. 

"  Mr.  Phillips  handles  his  big  subject  with  a  vigor  and 
force  that  is  convincing,  and  blends  it  so  happily  with  the 
romance  that  he  has  produced  a  tale  of  absorbing  interest 
second  to  none  of  the  fiction  of  the  year." 

—Pittsburgh  Dispatch. 

"  It  is  a  good  thing  for  any  country  to  have  such  novels 
as  Mr.  Phillips  writes  find  readers  and  listeners  among  its 
men  and  women." — Seattle  Post-Intelligencer. 

"The  book  is  full  of  practical  philosophy,  which  makes 
it  worth  careful  reading,  for  the  author  has  studied  life 
carefully  and  his  conclusions  are  those  of  the  expert  ana- 
lyst of  motive  and  character." — San  Francisco  Chronicle. 

D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY,  NEW  YORK. 


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